Design, fabrication, and characterization of an anechoic wind tunnel facility

The design, fabrication, and characterization of an anechoic wind tunnel facility at the University of Florida are presented. The objective of this research is to develop and rigorously characterize an anechoic wind tunnel suitable for detailed aerodynamic and aeroacoustic research. A complete tunnel design methodology is developed to optimize the design of the individual components of the wind tunnel circuit, and modern analysis tools, such as computational fluid dynamics and structural finite element analyses, are used to validate the design.; The wind tunnel design is an "L-shaped"open circuit with an open jet test section driven by a 300 HP centrifugal fan. Airflow enters the wind tunnel through a settling duct with a honeycomb section and a set of four screens. An optimized, minimum length (3.05 m) 8:1 contraction accelerates the flow into a rectangular test section that measures 0.74 m by 1.12 m by 1.83 m. Mach number similarity dictates the maximum velocity attainable in the test section to be 76 m/s; thus the maximum Reynolds number based on chord (chord=2/3 span) attainable is in the 3-4 million range. The flow leaving the test section enters an acoustically treated and 2D diffuser that simultaneously provides static pressure recovery and attenuates fan noise. The flow then turns a 90° corner with turning vanes and enters a second diffuser. The flow leaving the second diffuser enters the fan through a transition section.; The wind tunnel was characterized rigorously at speeds up to 43 m/s to ensure the quality of the future aerodynamic and aeroacoustic measurements. The overall SPL from 100 Hz--20 kHz ranges from 54.8 dB at 18 m/s to 75.7 dB at 43 m/s. The freestream turbulence level has a value of 0.035%, and the flow non uniformity in the test section was found to be < 0.7% for a test section speed of 17 m/s.; The outcome of this work is an anechoic wind tunnel with excellent flow quality, low background noise, and the largest Reynolds number capability among university-scale anechoic facilities in the US.