BAÜP

UDC Wind Tunnel Automation

On the Elviña Campus of the University of A Coruña (UDC) is located the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, a facility that belongs to CITEEC (Centre for Technological Innovation in Building and Civil Engineering), with 32 metres in length and a test chamber that allows simulating variable wind profiles in height, which makes this facility one of the most important at national level.

Tests for civil engineering, automotive and aviation structures are carried out in this facility. An example of this is the aeroelastic analysis test carried out for the suspension bridge of the Strait of Messina in Italy, with a central span of 3,300 metres and a total length of 5,010 metres.

The tunnel is made up of a set of 9 fans that suck in the wind flowing through a 32-metre long tube, generating a flow that can reach a speed of 90 km/h.

SOLUTION

Considering the tests carried out in this facility and the large number of sensors in place, a large data processing and control capacity was required.

BAÜP undertook a comprehensive overhaul of the wind tunnel control and data acquisition system, which allowed for flexible, staged test configurations with massive data logging.

UDC

RESULTS

This project allows the CITEEC team to have a wind speed control with feedback, based on the existing environmental conditions for all types of tests carried out.

On the other hand, an improvement has been achieved in the precision of the positioning systems of the models to be tested and the real-time acquisition of process data and test variables. Finally, the equipment now has a parametrisable configuration system, which allows automatic tests to be carried out.