Na#onal  Wind  Tunnel  Facility  

Kevin  Gouder  Department  of  Aeronau#cs,  Imperial  College  

 

Wind  Tunnel  Capabili#es  Strategy  Applica#on  &  Verifica#on  for  Future  Requirements  

www.nwI.ac.uk    

www.epsrc.ac.uk/research/facili#es/access/otherfacili#es/na#onal-­‐wind-­‐tunnel-­‐facility-­‐nwI/      

Na#onal  Wind  Tunnel  Facility  

A  network  of  17  talent-­‐focused  

facili#es  distributed  across  7  

universi#es    

Total  Grant:  £13.3  million,  £10.7  million  coming  from  EPSRC  and  £2.6  million  from  the  UK  Aerodynamics  Centre  (now  ATI).  

Na#onal  Wind  Tunnel  Facility  Mul#-­‐sectorial  research  in  experimental  fluid  mechanics,  low  TRL  <3,  with  aerospace  focus.     M   Re  

Open  access  for  25%  of  the  1me.  

Full  range  of  Reynolds  and  Mach  numbers      Universi#es  are:  •  clearly  commi`ed  to  wind  tunnels  •  research  intensive  •  prepared  to  demonstrate  best  prac#ce.  

Need  

•  182  tunnels  in  UK  –  75  of  which  are  in  universi#es    –  10-­‐20  are  research  ac#ve  

•  Tunnels  supported  through  FEC  estate  rate  –  does  not  reflect  true  running  costs  (e.g.  space  charges,  capital  deprecia#on)  

•  EPSRC  Delivery  Plan  2011-­‐2015:  “support  fewer  facili#es  in  a  more  sustainable  way”  

•  Strategic  Plan  2015:  “efficiencies  through  equipment  sharing  and  strategic  investments  of  capital  around  centres  of  excellence”    

•  Timeliness  –  Government  funding:  UKAC  (ini#al  £60m);  ATI  £1bn  over  7  years  (from  2014);  £60m  UK  Space  Agency.  

–  Universi#es  funding  £75M  

Selected  Tunnels  

•  Low  speed:  Cranfield,  Imperial*,  Southampton*,  City  (transi#on)  (Re/m  <  3.3×106)  

•  Trans/Supersonic:  Cambridge,  City*,  Imperial*  (0.4  <  M  <  3.5)  

•  Hypersonic:  Imperial,  Oxford*  (4  <  M  <  9)  •  Environmental:  Cranfield  (ABL),  Southampton*  (hydroscience  tank,  anechoic  tunnel)  

•  Aerospace:  Glasgow  (rotorcram),  Cranfield  (icing)  

*  New  University  investment  ~£65m  

Management  

•  Management  Board  +  Project  Manager:  meets  quarterly  –  New  /  refurbished  tunnels  are  coming  online  –  New  EPSRC  grants  have  started  to  appear  with  NWTF  usage  –  NWTF  profile  has  generated  further  ac#vity  –  industry,  commercial,  

outreach    –  KPIs  and  Service  Level  Agreement  in  place  –  Charge-­‐out  rates  used  to  set  up  ‘sinking  funds’  for  repairs/upgrades  

•  Advisory  Board:  meets  yearly  –  first  mee#ng  3rd  February  2015    –  Interna#onal  profile  (EU,  USA;  industrial  &  academic)  

•  Mid-­‐Term  Review:  due  September  2016  •  Access:  marke#ng,  networks,  demonstra#on  of  inclusivity,  

alloca#on  of  resources  without  funding  strings  

Benefits  •  Crea#on  of  nodes  of  excellence  with  interna#onal  visibility,  enhanced  capability  –    ‘a`ractors’  for  young  researchers  who  establish  a  virtuous  circle    

•  Enhanced  research  produc#vity    •  Support  of  fewer  facili#es  to  a  higher  level,  open  access    •  Economic  benefits    –  “pull-­‐through”  to  industry;  “spillover”  to  other  sectors    

•  Ins#tu#onal  links  to  CDTs  –  IC  (fluids),  Leeds  (fluids);  Cambridge  /  Oxford  /  Loughborough  (turbomachinery)    

•  Facili#es  provide  focus  for  academia  /  industry  na#onal  networks  –  e.g.  Ver#cal  Lim  Network  (Agusta-­‐Westland),  DiPaRT  (Airbus),  ESA    

Landscape  Impact  •  Culture  change  in  the  way  experiments  are  performed    •  NWTF  to  move  to  an  EPSRC  mid-­‐range  facility  by  end  2018    

•  NWTF  has  aerospace-­‐dominated  focus:  extension  to  other  sectors    

•  EPSRC  Roadmap  near  comple#on  –  outline  of  £158m  further  investment  for  new  facili#es  –  five  “grand  challenges”    –  automo#ve,  aerospace,  wind  engineering,  space  &  remote  access    

•  Further  challenges:    –  Access  without  funding  strings,  e.g.  CDTs    –  Remote  access  –  democra#sa#on  of  use  

Status  •  Cambridge  –  Supersonic  work  con#nuous  throughout  year    

•  City  – Gaster  tunnel  new  EPSRC  grant  (Choi,  Nopngham)  –  Transonic  tunnel  refurbishment  nearing  comple#on  

•  Cranfield  –  8x4  tunnel  up  and  running  –  8x6  tunnel  new  balance  installed    –  icing  tunnel  refurbishment  nearing  comple#on  

•  Glasgow  –  Rotorcram  with  gust  facility  commissioned  March,  dynamic  stall  project:  VLN  genera#ng  new  contracts    

Industrial  contracts  

Status  •  Imperial  

–  10x5  contracts  issued,  expected  commissioning  March  2016    –  Supersonic  contracts  issued,  expected  commissioning  March  2016  –  Hypersonic  (Lockheed  Mar#n)  

•  Oxford  –  T6  (free  piston,  reflected  shock  tunnel)  opera#onal  by  end  2015  (EOARD)    

–  HDT  opera#onal  mid  2015  (EOARD)    –  LDT  opera#onal  mid  2015  (DSTL)      

•  Southampton  –  Tow  tank  completed,  primary  user  Wolfson  Unit  with  America’s  Cup  –  Anechoic  tunnel  on  line  towards  end  2015  –  Mitchell  tunnel  has  turned  work  away    

Website  

•  Website:  www.nwI.ac.uk