Development of a smoke visualisation system for wind tunnel laboratory experiments

Trinder, Martin; Jabbal, Mark

Abstract

The design, build and test of a smoke visualisation system for a vertical wind tunnel at Brunel University are described. The smoke visualisation system utilised a fog machine for smoke generation and required the design and manufacture of a smoke rake to produce smoke lines inside the wind tunnel test section. The application of these smoke lines over several test objects, including wing sections and bluff body shapes, demonstrated the functionality of the smoke system in producing high-quality visualisations. The facility has proven to be an economic addition in supporting other research projects and is anticipated to be a valuable ‘hands on’ addition to existing aerospace laboratory teaching.

Citation

Trinder, M., & Jabbal, M. (2013). Development of a smoke visualisation system for wind tunnel laboratory experiments. International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 41(1), https://doi.org/10.7227/IJMEE.41.1.5

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2012
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2013
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 15, 2017
• Journal: International Journal of Mechanial Engineering Education
• Print ISSN: 0306-4190
• Electronic ISSN: 2050-4586
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 1
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.7227/IJMEE.41.1.5
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/712378
• Publisher URL: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.7227/IJMEE.41.1.5
• Additional Information: Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications
• Contract Date: Sep 15, 2017