- Scientific Director: Sara Muggiasca
- Techical Manager: Luca Ronchi
- Website: www.windtunnel.polimi.it
Experimental Activities
Boundary layer section (14 x 4 m): simulates the earth's boundary layer, reproducing large sections of orography, and is therefore especially suited to wind engineering applications, on large-scale models of civil structures.
Test types:
- response of aeroelastic models to turbulent air
- measurement of temporal space pressure distributions and aerodynamic loads on rigid models
- study of fluid dynamic phenomena associated with vortex separation
- optimisation of sail plans for boats
- study of aerodynamic behaviour of trains and road vehicles
- study of pollution distribution and concentration
- application of flow visualisation techniques
Low turbulence section (4 x 4 m): for carrying out tests with high Reynolds numbers and low turbulence in confined flow and free flow configurations (helicopter tests on rotary wing models). Thanks to its large size, the testing section lends itself to a wide range of applications in the fields of aeronautics, vehicles and sport using life-size models.
Equipment
The facility is set up with a rich array of basic tools and special equipment dedicated to specific test types: a six-component dynamometric scale, miniaturised accelerometers, laser position transducers, a high-speed pressure scanner, three-component pressure probes, hot wire anemometers, high precision pressure transducers, multi-component triaxial dynamometric systems. It has active and passive turbulence generators for simulating a range of speed profiles with different integral scale characteristics and turbulence indicators. Both rooms are equipped with rotating tables for changing the angle of the wind on the models.