![]() Wind tunnel testing of sporting equipment has also been prevalent over the years, including golf clubs, golf balls, Olympic bobsleds, Olympic cyclists, and race car helmets. Some automotive-test wind tunnels have incorporated moving belts under the test vehicle in an effort to approximate the actual condition, and very similar devices are used in wind tunnel testing of aircraft take-off and landing configurations. In an actual situation the roadway is moving relative to the vehicle but the air is stationary relative to the roadway, but in the wind tunnel the air is moving relative to the roadway, while the roadway is stationary relative to the test vehicle. In these studies, the interaction between the road and the vehicle plays a significant role, and this interaction must be taken into consideration when interpreting the test results. Determining such forces was required before building codes could specify the required strength of such buildings and such tests continue to be used for large or unusual buildings.Ĭirca the 1960s, wind tunnel testing was applied to automobiles, not so much to determine aerodynamic forces per se but more to determine ways to reduce the power required to move the vehicle on roadways at a given speed. Later, wind tunnel study came into its own: the effects of wind on man-made structures or objects needed to be studied when buildings became tall enough to present large surfaces to the wind, and the resulting forces had to be resisted by the building's internal structure. Wind tunnel testing was considered of strategic importance during the Cold War development of supersonic aircraft and missiles. Large wind tunnels were built during World War II. ![]() The development of wind tunnels accompanied the development of the airplane. In that way a stationary observer could study the flying object in action, and could measure the aerodynamic forces being imposed on it. The wind tunnel was envisioned as a means of reversing the usual paradigm: instead of the air standing still and an object moving at speed through it, the same effect would be obtained if the object stood still and the air moved at speed past it. When many attempted to develop successful heavier-than-air flying machines. The earliest wind tunnels were invented towards the end of the 19th century, in the early days of aeronautic research, Special instruments can often be used to measure the force of the air exerted against the object. Coloured threads can also be attached to the object to show how the air moves around it. The motion of the air can be studied in different ways smoke or dye can be placed in the air and can be seen as it moves around the object. The air moving around the stationary object shows what would happen if the object was moving through the air. The object can be an aerodynamic test object such as a cylinder or an airfoil, an individual component, a small model of the vehicle, or a full-sized vehicle. ![]() The object being tested is held securely inside the tunnel so that it remains stationary. Most of the time, large powerful fans suck air through the tube. The wind tunnel moves air around an object, making it seem as if the object is flying. Some wind tunnels are large enough to contain full-size versions of vehicles. NASA uses wind tunnels to test scale models of aircraft and spacecraft. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft will fly. Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. A model Cessna with helium-filled bubbles showing pathlines of the wingtip vortices ![]()
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