Wind tunnel testing using reduced scale topography models is a mature technique [1] that enables the investigation of various aspects of wind flows from pollutant dispersion [2] to wind field modifications [3] affected by terrain. Alternatively, or in conjunction with a wind tunnel study, a rigorously developed computational technique would have the potential to provide additional and useful in...

The motivation of this work is to bridge the gap between experimental approaches in wind tunnel testing and numerical computations, in the field of structural design against strong winds. This paper focuses on the generation of an unsteady flow field, representative of a natural wind field, but still compatible with Computational Fluid Dynamics inlet requirements. A simple and “naive” procedure...

Our understanding of animal flight has inspired the design of new aerial robots with more effective flight capacities through the process of biomimetics and bioinspiration. The aerodynamic origin of the elevated performance of flying animals remains, however, poorly understood. In this themed issue, animal flight research and aerial robot development coalesce to offer a broader perspective on t...

Individual wind turbines, whether stand alone or in a wind farms, typically operate to maximize their own production without considering the impact of wake effects on nearby turbines. Investigation into wind turbine interaction within a wind farm has the potential to increase total power and reduce structural loads by properly coordinating the individual turbines that comprise the wind farm. To...

A wind tunnel conditions the air flow for testing equipment, such as heat exchangers, over a wide range of conditions. In this paper, a procedure to develop the operating envelope for the tested equipment in a wind tunnel is presented. The temperature and humidity of the air that requires conditioning is controlled and maintained by the combination of cooling coil (or evaporator), heating eleme...

A practical three-dimensional shape optimization for aerodynamic design of a transonic wing has been performed using Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). Because EAs coupled with aerodynamic function evaluations require enormous computational time, Numerical Wind Tunnel (NWT) located at National Aerospace Laboratory in Japan has been utilized based on the simple master-slave concept. Parallel process...

In the opening decades of wind engineering research and application the typical focus was on the glamorous, highrise structure. These expensive projects could typically afford the high cost of a wind-tunnel study. As the relative cost of these studies has decreased over the last forty years, more conventional architecture has found its way into the wind tunnel. However, it is still quite rare f...

An atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel was used to survey the variation in local wind conditions over a region of the Altamont Pass, California, containing two wind farms. Meteorological data combined with the wind tunnel results were used to predict the power output of the wind farms every half hour over a oneyear period from July 2001 to June 2002. It was observed that the power production...

The design and implementation of Doppler Global Velocimetry (DGV) for testing in the Langley Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel is presented. The discussion begins by outlining the characteristics of the tunnel and the t e s t e n v i r o nmen t , w i t h p o t e n t i a l p r o b l em a r e a s h i g h l i g h t e d . Modifications to the optical system design to implement solutions for these problems a...

Launch and recovery helicopter wind envelope for a ship type was determined as the first step to the helicopter qualification program. Flight deck velocities data were obtained by means of a two components laser Doppler anemometer testing a 1/50 model in the wind tunnel stream. Full-scale flight deck measurements were obtained on board the ship using a sonic anemometer. Wind tunnel and full-sca...