BEng/BSc Final Year Project

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering

Wind Tunnel DesignSalim AlkindiCourse Code: CEB, Student ID No. 351164

Supervisor: Mr H.Parchizadeh, Moderator: Dr Y. Liu

IntroductionThe project requires the design and implements of Wind Tunnel Model. The wind speed the tunnel should be measured and displayed. Also it is

required to have measurement of the forces exerted on a model inside the tunnel.

What is a Wind Tunnel?A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research. It is used to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. The object inside the tunnel is connected various instruments that measure and record the aerodynamic forces upon it. It is research tool widely used by automobile and aeronautical manufactures and motorsport teams.

Functionality+ Drag or Lift Forces measured using strain gauges which are put in

unbalanced bridges.

+ An amplifier and an ADC converter converts the voltage caused by the unbalanced bridges then send it to the microcontroller.

+ 8051 Microcontroller gets data from instrumentation and displays it on the LCD.

Project Aims+ Measure the wind speed inside the wind tunnel

+ Measure the Drag and the Lift forces on the model inside the tunnel

+ Display the results on an LCD

2009

Location: An.g A0.7

Why are they used?The aerodynamic properties of vehicles are important for numerous

reasons. A vehicle that is not very aerodynamic will cause large amounts of drag. This affects the acceleration, speed (even fuel

economy!) and down force of the vehicle.

BEng/BSc Final Year Project

Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering

Wind Tunnel DesignSalim AlkindiCourse Code: CEB, Student ID No. 351164

Supervisor: Mr H.Parchizadeh, Moderator: Dr Y. Liu

2009

Location: Ann. A0.7

Strain gauge

Buttons to control the speed

Fan

8051 Microcontroller

LCD

PWM driving the FanPulse-width modulation (PWM) of a signal or power source

involves the modulation of its duty cycle, to either convey information over a communications channel or control the amount

of power sent to a load. In this Wind Tunnel, three PWM waveforms are generated from the microcontroller to give three

different speeds to the fan.

Further DevelopmentAs a further development to this project, a good addition would be

using full-bridge strain gauge circuit which gives more sensitivity to the system. Moreover, connecting the microcontroller to the PC using a serial port so the user can read the measurements in numerical and

graphical form and control the fan using the PC.

Strain GaugesStrain gauges are frequently used in mechanical engineering

research and development to measure the stresses generated by machinery. Aircraft component testing is one area of application,

tiny strain-gauge strips glued to structural members, linkages, and any other critical component of an airframe to measure stress. In the

Wind Tunnel , two strain gauges are used on two beams.

Software SideThe software written for this project is in C programming language

consists of three main parts:

+ Control ingFan using PWM.

+ Reading the 8bits coming from the ADC

+ Displays the Results on the LCD