Control of Reynolds number in a high speed wind tunnel

Silva, Maurício G.; Gamarra, Victor O.R.; Koldaev, Vitor

doi:10.5028/jatm.2009.01016977

Abstract:

A conceptual control model for the Reynolds number test based on isentropic relations was established for the supersonic wind tunnel. Comparison of the system response of the model simulation and the actual wind tunnel test data was made to design the control system. Two controllers were defined: the first one was based on the stagnation pressure at the settling chamber; the second was based on the relation between stagnation pressure and temperature at the settling chamber which represents the Reynolds number specified for the test. A SIMULINK^® block diagram code was used to solve the mathematical model consisting of mass and energy conservation equations. Performance of the supersonic wind tunnel using a PI (proportional-plus-integral) controller was found to be satisfactory, as confirmed by the results.

Key Words:
Blowdown wind tunnel; Pressure control; Mach number control; Reynolds number control

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REFERENCES

Buggele, A. E. and Decker, A. J., 1994, "Control of Wind Tunnel Operations Using Neural Net Interpolation of Flow Visualization Records", NASA Technical Memorandum 106683.
Ficher Control Company, 1984, "Rotary Shaft Control Valve Specifications.", Marshalltown, Iowa, Ficher Control Company Report.
Fung, Y. T, 1987, "Microprocessor Control of High Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", The Pensylvania State University, Master of Science, 59 p.
Fung, Y. T., Settles, G. S. and Ray, A., 1988, "Microprocessor Control of High-Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", AIAA Journal, Vol.2, No.l4 pp429.
Kuethe, A. M., Chow, C. Y., 1998, "Foundations of Aerodynamics", Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Marvin, J. G., 1987, "Wind Tunnel Requirements for Computational Fluid Dynamics Code Verification", USA, NASA Technical Memorandum 100001.
Matsumoto J., Lu, F. K. and Wilson, D. R., 2001, "Pre Programmed Controller For A Supersonic Blowdown Tunnel", 95th Meeting of the Supersonic Tunnel Association International, Hampton, VA
Pope, A., and Goin, K. L., 1965, "High Speed Wind Tunnel Testing," John Wiley & Sons, New York.
Silva, M. G., Falcao, J.B.P.F and Mello, O. A. F., "Control of High Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", Proceedings of the 11th Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering (ENCIT), Dec 5-8,2006, CIT06-0921, Curitiba, Brasil.
The MathWorks, Inc., 2002, Using Simulink (Version 5).

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
Jan-Jun 2009

History

Received
23 Mar 2009
Accepted
20 May 2009

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[1] Buggele, A. E. and Decker, A. J., 1994, "Control of Wind Tunnel Operations Using Neural Net Interpolation of Flow Visualization Records", NASA Technical Memorandum 106683.

[2] Ficher Control Company, 1984, "Rotary Shaft Control Valve Specifications.", Marshalltown, Iowa, Ficher Control Company Report.

[3] Fung, Y. T, 1987, "Microprocessor Control of High Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", The Pensylvania State University, Master of Science, 59 p.

[4] Fung, Y. T., Settles, G. S. and Ray, A., 1988, "Microprocessor Control of High-Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", AIAA Journal, Vol.2, No.l4 pp429.

[5] Kuethe, A. M., Chow, C. Y., 1998, "Foundations of Aerodynamics", Fifth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, New York.

[6] Marvin, J. G., 1987, "Wind Tunnel Requirements for Computational Fluid Dynamics Code Verification", USA, NASA Technical Memorandum 100001.

[7] Matsumoto J., Lu, F. K. and Wilson, D. R., 2001, "Pre Programmed Controller For A Supersonic Blowdown Tunnel", 95th Meeting of the Supersonic Tunnel Association International, Hampton, VA

[8] Pope, A., and Goin, K. L., 1965, "High Speed Wind Tunnel Testing," John Wiley & Sons, New York.

[9] Silva, M. G., Falcao, J.B.P.F and Mello, O. A. F., "Control of High Speed Wind Tunnel Stagnation Pressure", Proceedings of the 11th Brazilian Congress of Thermal Sciences and Engineering (ENCIT), Dec 5-8,2006, CIT06-0921, Curitiba, Brasil.

[10] The MathWorks, Inc., 2002, Using Simulink (Version 5).

Brasil