Wind tunnel: A wind tunnel is a device where in a stream of air controlled velocity & uniform flow condition is made

to pass over a scale model of a car on which the forces and moments acting here on can then be measured. Wind tunnels are of two types as Continuous Intermittent And as Flexible nozzle type Fixed nozzle type And as Sub sonic Transonic Supersonic or hypersonic Depending on air velocity Extensive cooling or handling mass be necessary in these tunnels and drying & filtering of the air are usually required I such high speed tunnels. A continuous tunnel is one, which has a complete circuit the passing from compressor to cooler to test section to diffuser & back to compressor. For facilities with limited compressor equipment which cant supply an adequate amount of air at the necessary pressure to private a continuous flow through the nozzle of desired size, the intermittent or blow down principle may be used. Such tunnels may be designed with only a high pressure chamber at the exit or both. The energy for driving the air through the tunnel is obtained by pumping an inlet tank to high pressure or vaccum tank to very low pressure or both, depending upon the design.

When the valve or valves are quickly operated, the air is allowed to pass through the tunnel & maintain the velocity prescribed by the nozzle ratio if the pressure ratio is not sufficient to maintain this condition. The valve is then shut off and time is required to pump the high pressure tank again and again reduce the pressure in the vaccum tank to the necessary level. In flexible nozzle type, the velocity can be varied or changed only by replacing one nozzle with another or by adjusting the nozzle contours; this latter feature is accomplished by means of jacks operating o flexible walls.

TESTING IN WIND TUNNEL: Scale model of vehicles can be kept in test section and the various forces can be measured. In wind tunnels wind velocity and wind angle can be simulated, which is not possible in road testing.

Normally shape modifications can be made on models very easily and the force and the moments can be measured very easily. Flow pattern studies such as smoke level study, tuft study can also be made using wind tunnels. Advantages of wind tunnel testing 1. 2. 3. 4. Wind velocity and wind angle can be easily and accurately simulated. Flow pattern studies can also be made accurately. Forces and moments can be measured simultaneously. Testing time and cost are less

MEASUREMENT OF AERODYNAMIC COEFFICIENT: The aerodynamic forces and moments are measured in a wind tunnel using a wind tunnel balance. The aerodynamic forces and moments obtained are then used to calculate the aerodynamic coefficients. At the start of the test , the vehicle is placed on the balance top plates and fixed preferably by locating its driven wheels. One important point is, correct loading of the test vehicle to its standard weight. Not only the total weight must be checked, but also its distribution between front and rear wheel also be considered. If this is not correct , the riding height at the front and rear will be in correct and the angle of attack on the vehicle body will not be representative of the intended test case. As the aerodynamic coefficient varies with the angle of attack, the test result will be incorrect. As the result of the lift force component at front and rear axle, the effective axle load decrease with consequent change of the front and rear heights. This results in reduced vertical body momements and therefore the riding height do not correspond to driving conditions. The easiest way to make the vehicle change during wind application is to apply steering wheel motions by the drive, prior to every data reading. Thus the riding height at vehicle front end is truly adjusted. A smaller compensation at he rear end is not easy and the error is generally small compared with the front end, it can be neglected. FLOW VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUE: Visualization of air flow on the vehicle body spatial flow close to vehicle and air flow pattern in the passenger compartment can be done by this technique Flow around vehicle body can be made visible by using wool tufts. Thus the region of attached and separated flow can be easily detected. Another flow visualization method is the use of surface oil film containing colored or luminescent pigments. Spatial flow near the body is used to understand and interpret the aerodynamic effects of interested body area and contours. The most widely used tool is a smoke onto the air flow enables the flow pattern to be viscible.

Smoke generators are based on heating a mineral oil derivative until evaporation occurs and a dense white smoke is provided. The smoke is then injected into the air flow with the aid of long thin stem.