WIND TUNNEL
S.M. PROJECT
A005 Dhruaan Desai
A007 Sahil Bhuta
A010 Aarnav Doshi
A011 Praneel Sanzgiri
A028 Ryan Fernandes
A030 Jash Shah
CONTENTS
01 02 03
Property Being Materials Required
About Wind &
Tunnels Demonstrated
Procedure
04 05 06
Observations Calculations References
ABOUT WIND
01 TUNNELS
WHAT IS A WIND TUNNEL?
● Wind tunnels are large tubes with air
blowing through them which are used to
replicate the interaction between air and
an object flying through the air or moving
along the ground.
● The object in the Tunnel is fixed in
Position.
● The Wind Tunnel makes air move around
an object, making it seem like the object is
really flying.
HISTORY OF WIND TUNNELS
• English military engineer and mathematician
Benjamin Robins (1707–1751) invented a whirling
arm apparatus to determine drag and did some
of the first experiments in aviation theory in
1746.
• The Wright brothers’ made a simple wind tunnel
in 1901 to study the effects of airflow over various
shapes while developing their Wright Flyer.
HOW A WIND TUNNEL WORKS
USES OF A WIND TUNNEL
● Pressure distribution over a test model
● Air velocity through a test model
● Static Pressure and Dynamic Pressure over a test
model
● The direction of air flow across a test model
● Various aerodynamic forces across a test section.
PROPERTY BEING
02 DEMONSTRATED
PROPERTY BEING DEMONSTRATED-
1. Lift Force-
● It is the upward acting force on an airfoil or
an aircraft wing.
● Lift occurs when a flow of gas is turned by a
solid object. The flow is turned in one
direction, and the lift is generated in the
opposite direction, according to Newton's
Third Law of action and reaction.
PROPERTY-
2. Drag Force-
● The resistance offered by a fluid, like air and
water, is called the drag force or drag when an
object moves through it. It acts in a direction
opposite to the object’s motion. It is generated
by the relative velocity between the solid object
and the fluid. Whether the object or fluid is
moving, drag occurs as long as there is a
difference in their velocities. Because it is
resistant to motion, drag tends to slow down
the object.
LOAD CELL SENSOR
● Load cells are sensors that detect force such as
mass and torque.
● Load cells work by converting a specific type of
mechanical force—typically tension, torque,
compression, or pressure—into an output
signal. This output signal is then transmitted via
a load cable to the scale’s indicator where the
precise weight can be measured and read by
the operator.
ANGLE OF ATTACK
● The Angle of Attack is the angle at which
relative wind meets an Aerofoil. It is the angle
formed by the Chord of the aerofoil and the
direction of the relative wind or the vector
representing the relative motion between the
aircraft and the atmosphere.
● In our experiment we will change the angle of
attack and see how it affects the amount of lift
generated and hence the lift coefficient.
MATERIALS
03 REQUIRED &
PROCEDURE
MATERIALS REQUIRED
● M.D.F(MEDIUM DENSITY FIBREBOARD)
● 12-V COMPUTER FAN
● ACRYLIC SHEETS
● PLASTIC STRAWS
● LOAD CELL
● FOAM BOARD
PROCEDURE
● First we set the angle of the airfoil to be 0
degree and then place it in the wind tunnel.
● After that, the wind tunnel is switched on and
the air flows over the foil.
● The reading of the load cell is noted down.
● Gradually, we turn the wind tunnel off and
rotate the foil by 10 degrees
● The procedure is repeated again, in order to
achieve desired outcomes.
04 OBSERVATIONS
OBSERVATION TABLE
LIFT FORCE
ANGLE OF ATTACK
GRAMS NEWTON
-50 0 0
00 0.45 4.4145x10-3
100 0.82 8.0442x10-3
200 1.21 11.8701x10-3
300 1.33 13.0473x10-3
400 1.17 11.477x10-3
05 CALCULATIONS
GRAPH
Lift Coefficient vs Angle of Attack
2.5
1.5
0.5
0
-10 0 10 20 30 40 50
REFERENCES
• https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-
4/stories/nasa-knows/what-are-wind-tunnels-
k4.html
• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_tunnel
• https://youtu.be/L1AYo9Mk1EI
• https://www.sciencefacts.net/drag-force.html
• https://www.thermal-engineering.org/what-is-
lift-force-definition/
• https://www.skybrary.aero/articles/angle-attack-
aoa
• http://www.me.unm.edu/~kalmoth/windtunnel_
lab.pdf
