Design and performance of thin, circular arc, wind-tunnel turning vanes

The design methodology and performance of Loughborough University’s new 1·9m × 1·3m, indraft wind tunnel is discussed in the following paper. To overcome severe spatial and financial constraints, a novel configuration was employed, with the inlet and exit placed adjacent to each other and opened to atmosphere. Using a fine filter mesh, honeycomb, two turbulence reduction screens and a contraction ratio of 7·3, flow uniformity in the working area of the jet at 40ms-1 is shown to be within 0·3% deviation from the mean velocity, with turbulence intensity in the region of 0·15%.