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Design of a Wind Tunnel: A Student Project to Design and Build Their Own Wind Tunnels as the Culmination of Fluid Mechanics Laboratory

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Conference

2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Minneapolis, MN

Publication Date

August 23, 2022

Start Date

June 26, 2022

End Date

June 29, 2022

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering: Fluids, Heat Transfer

Page Count

17

DOI

10.18260/1-2--41170

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/41170

Download Count

945

Paper Authors

biography

Charles Keesee

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Assistant Professor of Engineering, PhD.
University of Jamestown
Jamestown, ND 58405

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Katrina Christiansen

biography

Cherish Bauer-Reich

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Ms. Bauer-Reich has a B.S. in Physics and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from NDSU and an M.S. in Earth Science of UMN-Twin Cities. She is a senior member of the IEEE. She is currently the Chair of the Department of Engineering at the University of Jamestown in Jamestown, ND. Her research interests include STEM pedagogy, antenna theory, and remote sensing.

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Abstract

Fluid Mechanics Laboratory (or a similarly titled course) is an integral part of any mechanical engineering curriculum. One of the instruments used to demonstrate several key principles of fluid flow is the wind tunnel. Currently, our department does not have a wind tunnel that can adequately demonstrate several desired fluid flow concepts to the students. Therefore, as part of their coursework, the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory students were tasked with designing, building, and testing their own wind tunnels. This design project had a two-fold purpose. Primarily, the purpose was to build a wind tunnel that could effectively demonstrate some of the fundamental fluid mechanics concepts discussed in the classroom. The secondary purpose of this project was to reinforce engineering design techniques. The overall parameters assigned to the students were minimal; the students were allowed to determine the conditions the tunnel needed to achieve (flow rate, Reynolds Number, etc.). However, they were required to describe and justify the design choices. This led to an analysis of prototype performance compared to design goals. The teams were also faced with two constraints: a budget of $250 and a one-month timeline to completion. Intermediate steps included a formal proposal presentation and a preliminary design review prior to purchasing components. Students also obtained first-hand experience in manufacturing processes as they purchased raw materials and then converted their designs into a finished product. Overall, the project proved to be very successful. Five teams built uniquely designed wind tunnels each focusing on different parameters. For example, one team desired to keep the flow laminar while another team desired to produce as much lift as possible. Follow-on analysis showed this project achieved the stated purposes and introduced the students to a hands-on design project that helped to prepare them for a capstone senior design project. This project will be improved, repeated, and expanded with future groups of students.

Keesee, C., & Christiansen, K., & Bauer-Reich, C. (2022, August), Design of a Wind Tunnel: A Student Project to Design and Build Their Own Wind Tunnels as the Culmination of Fluid Mechanics Laboratory Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Minneapolis, MN. 10.18260/1-2--41170

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