A new low-speed closed-loop, environmental wind tunnel has been designed and constructed at the Università Politecnica delle Marche. This work presents the fluid-dynamic analysis of the wind tunnel test chamber, in order to determine its adequacy to conduct aerodynamic studies, on three-dimensional models ,for environmental purposes.
In particular, complete anemometric characterizations of the test section, equipped with different combinations of turbulence promoters, vortex generators, spires and barriers were performed. In these tests, velocity and turbulence distributions and profiles were measured with a hot-wire constant temperature anemometer.
Results showed the adequacy of the tunnel to simulate the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), in different terrain roughness conditions.
In order to proof the adequacy of the wind tunnel test chamber to perform studies on building models, pressure distribution measurements were conducted, on the surface of two models in scale 1/20 and l/50, representing Texas Tech Building (TTB).
Texas Tech Building is a low-rise building placed in the Wind Enigineering Research Field Laboratory at Texas Tech University and equipped with pressure taps, so it is widely used as test case for environmental wind tunnel.
Pressure distributions are measured at 6 different angle of attack, for both models, in two different conditions of simulated atmospheric boundary layer, by Electronic Pressure Scanner (ESP). Free-stream velo city was set at 10 .
Results showed an agreement with numerical and experimental data existing for the TTB. An irrilevant effect of the ABL velocity profile on the pressure distributions was found, while a significant effect of the scale factor was established.
Flow visualization, around the 1/50 scale model, were conducted by mini-tuft technique, in order to investigate the stream-lines pattern around the body at different angle of attack.
These visualization showed the same fluid-dynamic phenomena found in pressure distributions analysis.
To complete the test chamber analysis, a new, three- axis, automatic motion system for the anemometer probe was design and constructed. Tests on its effect on flow quality showed a negligible solid blockage effect and little variation of ABL parameters at the model heights. Placing this system inside the test-chamber, allows to perform anemometric measurement around three-dimensional bodies.
In particular, anemometric measurements, with the new motion system, will be perform on a topographic model representing a site in Marche region, in order to evaluate its wind energy potenti al. The model in scale 1/6700 was already built and preliminary tests are being conducted.
These tests can determine the adequacy of this environmental wind tunnel to be a useful tool in wind energy potential characterization of compIex topography sites.