Quote:
Originally Posted by aerogreen
Can the average Joe get his model aero tested for drag and lift?
What's better wind tunnel testing or CFD?
For wind tunnel do you just send the scale model and they test it for you or Do wind tunnels get rented by the hour and you have to test it yourself? I guess they provide the scales and instrumentation.
What wind tunnels are available for hire and How much do they typically charge?
For CFD are there companies where you just Email the 3D model and they charge you to run a top dollar CFD program for you?
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I would call around Florida and locate the universities with engineering colleges,especially ones that have participated in North American Solar Challenge/World Solar Challenge/SAE economy runs/ Shell Eco Marathons,etc..
If they don't have a wind tunnel on campus,they'll have CFD.
The folks who work with graduate programs will help you with 'donation' costs
which will help fund your project.
The schools with wind tunnels can also help with expectations about 'donations' to the engineering department to underwrite wind tunnel time.They'll also inform you about model scale size issues for compatibilty.
The University of Maryland is famous for their model wind tunnel facility.
Texas Tech's Department of Mechanical Engineering' Aerodynamics Lab did the tunnel testing for Kenneth Lyon's 'Becker-Lyon' Cd 0.11 LSR motorcycle streamliner in 1990.Kenny provided the model and grad students did the testing.I'd rather not say what he spent.
When the 'EZ-HOOK' LSR motorcycle streamliner underwent wind tunnel model tests at Cal Tech's GALCIT facility they were charging clients $2,500 per day for testing and data reduction.
Compare that to Lockheed Marietta's full-scale tunnel at about $2,000/hour,if you could get in!
The A2 tunnel has a 1st-time user discount for two hours.
I'm not sure about the new Darko facility in Ogden,Utah.You could call.
PS,don't expect scale models to produce exact values.It's impossible to model all the intricate details of a full-size body.