The wind tunnel is a unilateral flow removable bed tool. Please see the image above & reference the numbers 1-7 therein:
- Air is drawn through the front wall of the tunnel. It & the chamber of the wind tunnel have a a cross sectional area of 1 m wide by 2 m tall. The air is drawn through an array of 1.5" (3.8 cm) diameter PVC air straighteners to reduce turbulence as the air is pulled into the chamber.
- Box inserts must be loaded onto a platform to insert them into the testable area with a pallet jack.
- 40 Boxes that are 1 m x 1 m (0.3 m deep) can be inserted into the test area of the wind tunnel. These boxes can be planted or a top can be placed over to create a continuous chamber bottom. The boxes are inserted 3.5 m downwind along the 5 m flat chamber bottom.
- This is the testable area where the boxes can be inserted. It is 3.5 m downwind. Boxes are inserted & sealed into the bed & then the chamber itself can be sealed via its door.
- 3D data of the testable area + 0.25 m downwind, can be collected with a 3D sensor. The sensor is mounted to the ceiling of the wind tunnel when in use, so as not to interrupt flow to the testable area, & can be lowered to mountings above the bed to capture 3D data in real-time. The sensor is a class II laser that uses triangulation to collect a max of 2500 profiles stitched together in real time (integrated data processing) to produce a 3D file with factory calibrated, true mm values in all dimensions at at height resolution/precision = 80 µm-670 µm. The scannable area is W = 66 cm, L = 1.25 m. There is not need for post processing & the sensor can handle collecting data on reflective surfaces.
- The fan is 20HP 460V 60 Hz 3 Phase JM Direct Driven Aerofoil fan with a 43000cfm duty. The wind tunnel can reach speeds up to 27 mph (12.1 m/s). Air speed can be monitored via turbine anemometers within the chamber.
- We have dry sand on hand donated by Island Beach State Park - mean grain size 0.300-0.350 mm
- The air flows out of the chamber & outside via a mechanical louvre.
- The front wall of the wind tunnel is lexan to allow viewing of the chamber during use for learning & or research involving videography. The far wall if clear with a ruler background behind the test area.