Research and development of an active unsteady flow and turbulence generation system for wind tunnels

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Wind tunnels are an important tool that are used for automotive performance testing. The wind tunnels are used to produce airflow conditions that a vehicle experiences with accuracy and repeatability. Vehicle testing performed in wind tunnels is used to characterize performance measures such as aerodynamics, which is important for improving fuel consumption/emissions and vehicle stability. Most full-scale automotive test facilities are designed to simulate ideal conditions such as a that occurring when a vehicle passes through still air. However, on-road driving conditions are subject to turbulence, cross flow or wind gusts, that can degrade a vehicle's performance. Aiolos Engineering Corporation is a Canadian company that is located in Toronto, Ontario. Aiolos is a world leader in the design and construction of full-scale wind tunnels and test facilities. In this collaborative partnership between Aiolos and Prof. Hanson's research group (in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University), a novel active unsteady flow and turbulence generation system for automotive wind tunnels to better simulate on-road wind conditions will be researched and developed. Measurements of the unsteady flow and turbulence produced by the active system will be carried out. The effect of geometric and motion parameters of the active system on the resulting flow fields will be studied to determine suitable combinations to better model the airflow conditions often experienced by vehicles on the road. In the long term the research supports improved vehicle performance and the Canadian competitive advantage in wind tunnel design. The proposed project will also support the training of MASc students in experimental fluid dynamics, wind tunnel testing and dynamic systems, which are relevant skills in demand by industry sectors including automotive, aerospace, wind engineering and energy.