Wind Tunnel Familiarization Flashcards
machines for producing controlled stream of air flowing through tunnels of varying but controlled sizes
wind tunnels
enables us to study the effects of bodies moving through air or the resistance to moving air of manufactured models
wind tunnels
facilities (circular, elliptical or rectangular tunnels) in which the wind is produced by fans or by compressed air to study and measure the action of the air flow around a solid
wind tunnels
part of the circuit where the solid is studied
test section
The method of wind tunnel is based on the ________ enunciated by Isaac Newton in 1687.
principle of relativity
The object to be tested is ______ in the test section as to prevent the stream of air from moving the object.
fastened
the slow-moving layer of air adjacent to any wind-exposed body surface
boundary layer
world’s largest wind tunnel at the NASA Ames Research Center
Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel
Where is NASA’s Langley Research Center?
Hampton, Virginia
first to make use of the “Whirling Arm”
Benjamin Robins
this machine had an arm with a length of __ ft spun around by a falling weight acting on a pulley and spindle arrangement
whirling arm, 4
The whirling arm brought light as to how different shaped objects, when moving through air is affected differently by air resistance, or _____.
drag
What limited Benjamin Robins experiments regarding the whirling arm?
the speed the arm can reach
He wrote and published in 1759 a paper that addressed the relationship between pressure and velocity for objects moving in water and air.
John Smeaton
Smeaton created what equation
drag equation
Father of Aviation
George Cayley
Cayley’s whirling arm was ___ ft (1.5 m) long and attained top speeds of about _______ (3 to 6 m/s).
5, 10 to 20 ft/s
Two very important factors
that are related to flight identified by Cayley
lift and drag
In ______, an unpiloted glider was built and flew successfully based on test data gathered from Cayley’s whirling arm.
1804
became famous as the first man to launch himself into the air, fly, and land safely using a glider
Otto Lilienthal
Between 1866 and 1889, Lilienthal built several whirling arms, ranging from ______ (2 to 7 m) in diameter.
6.5 to 23 ft
What did Otto Lilienthal say?
“Sacrifices must be made.”
famous for his automatic machine gun creations
Hiram Stevens Maxim
Maxim used a huge whirling arm to test airfoils between 1872 to 1894 in his _________.
helicopter experiment
Maxim’s version of the whirling arm had a diameter of ____ with the arm boasting elaborate instrumentation to measure lift, drag, and relative air velocity.
64 ft
What can Maxim’s whirling arm measure?
lift, drag, relative air velocity
he built a large whirling arm, 60 ft in diameter, and was spun around by ___ engine
Samuel Langley, 10-hp
One of Langley’s experiments with the arm attained speeds up to ______.
100 mph
first individual to design a wind tunnel
Frank H. Wenham
When did Frank H. Wenham build a wind tunnel?
1871
How long was Wenham’s wind tunnel and what is its area?
12 ft, 18 sqi