wind tunnels
Airflow testing facilities
Wind tunnels are enclosed passages through which air is forced at controlled speeds to study how objects behave in airflow.
Engineers use them to test the aerodynamics of aircraft, vehicles, buildings, and other structures by observing how scale models or full-size objects respond to simulated flight or wind conditions.
The new car design spent months in the wind tunnel before production.
Athletes in cycling and skiing also use wind tunnels to optimize body positions and equipment for reduced drag.
- dragResistance through fluid
- air resistanceForce opposing atmospheric movement
- aerodynamicsPhysics of air motion
- testingExamining to evaluate
- laminar flowSmooth, parallel fluid motion
turbulence · streamlines · scale model · model airplane · smoke trails · fluid dynamics · lift · boundary layer · drag coefficient · aerospace engineering · air flow · pressure sensors · Mach number · high speed · shock waves · velocity · blower · simulation
- aerospaceairplane, helicopter, rocket, rockets, spacecraft
- windbreeze, gale, gust, gusts, crosswinds
- Aviation HistoryWright Brothers, Wright Flyer, Wright brothers, Kitty Hawk, first flight
- automotive engineeringpowertrain, drivetrain, engine design, brake systems, suspension systems
- aircraft manufacturingfuselage, airframes, final assembly, assembly line, avionics
- aviation researchflight testing, aerodynamics, aerospace engineering, pressure testing, structural analysis
wind tunnelsfield testing
Evaluation outside the lab
flight testing · atmospheric testing · sea trials · free flight
wind, windy, tunnel, winds, winded, tunnels, unwinding, windless, rewind