Wind Tunnel Studies

For producing a point source of smoke in a wind tunnel environment, Concept has the Aerotech smoke system, with a heated tip on the end of a thin wand.

For seeding a wind tunnel for LDA/PVA type work the ViCount 1300 system is normally supplied. This can produce either water or oil-based smoke with minor re-programming, so it is a very adaptable solution.

The ViCount is such a versatile machine, that it’s capable of everything from seeding the world’s largest wind tunnel (NASA and AMES) through to producing fine smoke rakes in educational wind tunnels.

Summary

Artificial smoke is widely used in wind tunnels to visualise airflow patterns and enhance measurement techniques such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA). The smoke consists of fine particles or droplets, which act as tracers that follow the motion of the air, making the otherwise invisible flow visible. By introducing artificial smoke into the airstream, researchers can observe and analyse phenomena such as turbulence, boundary layers, vortices, and separation zones. These visualizations are particularly useful in validating computational models, optimizing designs, and understanding complex aerodynamic behaviours.

For PIV and LDA, artificial smoke particles are critical as they scatter light from lasers used in these techniques. In PIV, high-speed cameras capture the scattered light, enabling the calculation of velocity fields by tracking particle movement. In LDA, the Doppler shift in scattered light provides highly accurate velocity measurements. The advantages of using artificial smoke include its ability to produce uniform and consistent seeding for accurate data collection, adaptability to a wide range of flow conditions, and cost-effectiveness compared to other tracer materials. Additionally, the non-intrusive nature of smoke-based visualization ensures that the airflow remains undisturbed, leading to more reliable results.

Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss any technical queries, or provide advice or simply require more information.