Construction and Calibration of a Low-Speed Variable Velocity Profile Wind Tunnel

Wind tunnel experimentations have played a vital role in determining the aerodynamic loads for the design of aircrafts, tall buildings, bridges, etc. With the advent of unmanned and autonomous flying devices, the role of wind tunnel testing becomes even more critical. The role will now not only include determining the aerodynamic loads but also testing the autonomous capabilities and the ability of the autonomous flying device to react to the changes in wind speeds and directions. The objective of the current work will be is to construct and calibrate one such low-speed wind tunnel that will have capability to generate different wind velocity profiles along with gust. The test section of the wind tunnel will of a cross-sectional size 1.2 m × 1.2 m and 2.4 m long. The wind flow through the test section will be powered by a grid of 10 × 10 DC fans, each having a capacity of 250 CFM.