Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel
Empty Kevlar-walled anechoic test-section
Undergraduate student involved in renewable energy aero-acoustic testing
Boundary Layer Rake mounted in the anechoic test-section in its aerodynamic configuration
Undergraduate students involved in aerodynamic testing as part of NATO AVT-387 Common Research Wind Tunnels
Tunnel engineer mentoring undergraduate students during laboratory experiment
Graduate student inspecting rotor before Particle Image Velocimetry measurement
Laser Doppler Velocimetry measurements on the NASA BeVERLI Hill
The Virginia Tech Stability Wind Tunnel is a College of Engineering facility operated by the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering. With a 1.85m-by-1.85m test-section, it is one of the largest university operated wind tunnels in the United States with maximum speeds of 80m/s (corresponding to a Reynolds number of 5,000,000 per meter). In addition to its size, the flow quality is remarkable making it a prime research facility. Along with typical aerodynamic capabilities, the facility was the first to pioneer the hybrid-anechoic configuration with the addition of a removable anechoic test-section allowing for full-scale aero-acoustic testing. This configuration has since become the preferred configuration for large scale aero-acoustic facilties across the world.
The facility has extensive experience offering state-of-the-art research capabilities for academic research projects, efficient and productive testing for industrial applications, and providing large-scale research testing experience to undergraduate students thanks to support from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering.
Contact Information
For prospective customers interested in the facility please consult the schedule and e-mail your requests as follows:
- Dr. William Devenport - Tunnel Director [General Information, Scheduling]
- Telephone: (540) 231-4456
- E-Mail: devenport@vt.edu
- Dr. Aurelien Borgoltz - Assistant Director [General Information, Scheduling]
- Fax: (540) 231-1959
- E-Mail: aurelien@vt.edu
- Bill Oetjens - Wind Tunnel Engineer [Technical Information]
- Telephone: (540) 231-5012
- E-Mail: boetjens@vt.edu
Ongoing opportunities in CFD validation experiments:
- VT-ONR-NATO Activity: AVT-387 Common Research Wind Tunnels for CFD Verification and Validation (interested parties should contact Prof. Chris Roy at cjroy@vt.edu or complete the participation Google form)
- the VT-NASA CFD Turbulence Model Validation Challenge: A Blind Validation CFD Challenge Case for 3D Smooth-Body Turbulent Flow Separation (details and contact information can be found on the VT-NASA CFD Turbulence Model Validation Challenge website)