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September, 1939 A I R C R A F T E N G I N E E R I N G 345

China's Large Wind Tunnel*


Detai l s of the Desi gn and Constructi on of the
15ft. tunnel at Tsi ng Hua
By F. L. Wattendorf, Ph.D., A.F.R.Ae.S.,A.F.I.Ae.S.
T
HE Tsing Hua15-ft. wind tunnel, with
interchangeable 18-ft. section for full
scale engine and airscrew tests, was
recently erected in Central China. It was
planned as thecentral organ for aerodynamic
research in China and, as such, was subject to
interesting design conditions. The main
features of thetunnel design, as well as the
considerations underlying their choice, are
described in this article.
On thebasis of thesuccessful operation of
China's first wind tunnel,
1,2
President Y. C.
Mei of Tsing Hua University, in thespring of
1936, offered theservices of theUniversity in
establishing a research institute designed to
meet the current aerodynamical needs of China,
and toco-operate in theaeronautical develop-
ment of the country. The proposal was
approved by theCommission on Aeronautical
Affairs, under thedirection of Mme. Chiang
Kai-Shek, and agrant of land was made tothe
University for theerection of the new wind
tunnel. In the summer of 1936 the tunnel
design was completed and in theautumn of
the same year construction was started.
At this time theproject was incorporated
under a newly-formed organization called the
Tsing HuaAeronautical Research Institute,
with Dr. Y. H. Ku as Director, Prof. C. T.
Chwang, Vice-Director, and with a board of
advisers selected from China's leading aero-
nautical authorities. The new project received
the support and co-operation of both the
Commission on Aeronautical Affairs and the
National Resources Commission. Moreover,
the Institute was fortunate in having Dr. Th.
von Krmn of the California Institute of
Technology as Honorary Adviser and had the
benefit of his personal visit in thesummer of
1937, toinspect thenew tunnel and todiscuss
current problems. Erection of the tunnel
proper was completed in the latter part of 1937.
Current Aerodynamic Problems in China
The choice of size and arrangement of the
proposed wind tunnel was made after due con-
sideration of local conditions and types of
investigations currently needed in China.
In acountry like China, aeronautical develop-
ment generally passes through three stages,
namel y: first, thepurchase of ready-made
aeroplanes from abroad ; second, the local
manufacture and assembly of foreign machines
under licence ; and finally, as local factories
gain in experience and equipment, independent
design and manufacture. China, in 1936-37,
although chiefly in the first stage, had already
made an ambitious start in the second, and was
laying the foundation for the third. Therefore
the proposed wind tunnel had tobecapable of
handling the problems of the twoexisting stages
as well as the approaching third. It is now of
interest toconsider thetypes of wind tunnel
problems associated with each stage of
development, as follows :
1. Aeroplanes Imported from Abroad
The role of awind tunnel for thecase when
aeroplanes arc purchased complete may not at
first beevident, however thefollowing points
should beconsidered. When a new type of
machine is developed in any country it is
usually not released for export until after an
interval of several years. Therefore when a
new machine is imported it does not represent
the very latest type. However, thechange in
any one type of aeroplane from year toyear
may be in theform of relatively superficial
alterations, such as addition or modification of
cowling, flaps, fittings, etc. Therefore in many
cases an aeroplane purchased from abroad may
bo kept up-to-date by making the proper
additions or modifications as they are developed,
but wind tunnel tests must first be made before
this can be safely and effectively carried out.
Furthermore, in a large country with
relatively few aircraft, it often becomes
necessary tomake use of existing machines for
special purposes. For instance, open cockpit
aeroplanes may be provided with closed cabins
for passenger transport ; or commercial
machines may be adapted for military purposes
by the addition of armament, observation cut-
outs, etc. Again, it may be desirable toreplace
an engine with one of different size and type, or
to make use of locally manufactured airscrews.
In maintenance and repair work it is frequently
difficult or impossible tomake replacements
which areduplicates of theoriginal parts, so
that substitutes of different types must be used.
It is evident that these and many similar
modifications can bemade satisfactorily only
after systematic wind tunnel investigations.
2. Aeroplanes Built Under Licence
When machines are constructed under a
foreign licence, it is apparent that theitems
under case 1 apply equally well. In addition,
however, there are many problems arising from
the fact that during local manufacture it is not
always possible or desirable to duplicate
exactly the original design. For instance,
local materials could often beused at a great
saving of time and expense, if only the behaviour
of the aerodynamic forces were accurately
known. This also applies to desirable
simplifications of manufacturing processes which
require fewer and simpler machine tools, and
are better adapted tomanual labour. Further-
more, it is frequently advantageous tomake
modifications during construction which enable
an aeroplane of certain special type tobe of
more general use than originally designed.
Again, it often occurs that aparticular machine
evidences unexpected peculiarities in flying
characteristics during thetrial flights. There
are many such difficulties which a manufacturer
cannot foresee, and' which require wind tunnel
tests tofind effective remedies.
3. Aeroplanes Designed and Produced
Independently
Independent aeroplane design and
manufacture naturally follows in gradual steps
from case 2. However, for a rapid and
thorough transition it is of the first importance
for the manufacturers of acountry tohave the
REFERL NCES TO L ITERATURE
(1) Wang, S. C.; Feng, K. L .; Wattendorf, F. L .; Chaw, C. C.
"The National Tsing Hua University Wind Tunnel ." The Journal
of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, Vol, XII, No. 1, May, 1936 (in
Chinese).
(2) Wattendorf, F. L. " TheFirst Chinese Wind Tunnel ."
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, Vol. X, No. 116, Oct., 1938.
(3) Wattendorf, F. L. "The Ethciency of Return Flow Wind
Tunnel s." Tsing Hua Science Reports, A, Vol. III, Nos. 4and 5,
J uly, 1936.
(4) Wattendorf, F. L .; Feng, K. L .; Chang, C. C. "The
Energy Ratioof the Tsing HuaWind Tunnel ." Tsing Hua Science
Reports, A, Vol. III, No. 6, Dec, 1936.
(5) Wattendorf, F. L. "Factors Influencing theEnergy Rati o
of Return Flow Wind Tunnel s." Paper presented at the Fifth
International Congress for Applied Mechanics, Cambridge, Mass.,
Sept., 1938.
(6) Kramer, M. Der 5m x 7m Wi ndkanal der DVL. Luft-
fahrtforschung, Bd. 12 (1935), Nr. 10.
(7) Wattendorf, F. L. ; Chang, C. C. "Anal ysi s of Stresses in
Thin Walled Concrete Tubes." Tsing Hua Engineering Quarterly,
Vol. I, No. 1, March, 1937.
(8) Dischinger, F . ; Finsterwalder, U. "Ei senbetonsehal en
dacher System Zeiss-Dywidag. Baningenieur, Bd. 9, 1928.
(9) Schorer, H. "Desi gn of Large Pipe L i nes."Proceedi ngs
of theAmerican Society of Civil Engineers, Transacti ons 97-98,
1993.
(10) Wattendorf, F. L .; Chang. C. C. "Anal ysi s of Bending
Moments inSupporting Rings for Thin Walled Tubes." Tsing Hua
Engineering Quarterly, Vol. I, No. 2, J une, 1937.
(11) Feng, K. L. "Ai rfoi l Calibration Tests in theTsing Hua
5-ft. Wind Tunnel ." Tsing HuaScience Reports, A, Vol, IV',
No. 1, April, 1937.
(12) Werek, F. E.; Wood.D.H. "The 20-ft. Propeller Research
Tunnel of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronauti cs."
N.A.C.A. Technical Report No. 3(10, 1928.
*In a former article ("The First Chinese Wi nd-Tunnel ."
AIRCRAFT ENGINEERING, Vol. X, October, 1938, pp. 317-8) Dr.
Wattendorf described the 5ft. tunnel at Peiping, as theresult of
experiments inwhich the larger tunnel here described was designed.
Unfortunately, we learn, this tunnel has now been destroyed by
the J apanese forces.
316 A I R C R A F T E N G I N E E R I N G September, 1939
close co-operation of an aerodynamic research
establishment capable of handling their needs.
With the backing of wind tunnel tests, increas-
ingly greater modifications of design and
construction of foreign type aeroplanes are
made possible, until finally complete
independence is reached.
Choice of Tunnel Type and Size
With both current and luture needs in mind,
as well as adaptation to local conditions, the
following general decisions were made about
the proposed wind tunnel.
1. Tunnel Type
For simplicity and economy of construction,
it was decided tohave the main tunnel structure
in the open, with only the region of the test
section enclosed by a building. Since the
tunnel location was flat open country, subject
tohigh and unsteady winds, the Eiffel type with
open ends was ruled out, and a single closed
return, or Prandtl type was chosen. As
material for the main construction, estimates
showed concrete to be cheaper than steel, as
well as being much better adapted to the local
preponderance of manual labour over machine
tools.
2. Tunnel Size
Although many of the desired aerodynamic
tests can be made by the use of models, there
is an important group of investigations requiring
full size engines and running airscrews. This
group is of special importance in China, where
motors or airscrews may have tobe replaced by
those of different types, or where local oils or
fuels could be used toadvantage if the influence
on performance were known. For tests of this
type it was estimated that a tunnel diameter of
at least 15or 18 ft. would be needed. How-
ever, for certain model tests it is apparent that
a smaller throat diameter, with correspondingly
higher speed, would be advantageous. There-
fore, in order that the tunnel should be as
flexible as possible, and capable of being
adapted to different types of tests, it was
decided to have several interchangeable test
sections of different diameter.
Final choice of the basic tunnel diameter,
over-all length and power was made after con-
sideration of total erection and operating costs.
In China, constructional costs are much lower
relative to motor cost than in most other
countries, and power costs are a much greater
part of the operating expenses. These factors
emphasize the relative importance of having a
high energy ratio.
As a preliminary tothe design of this tunnel,
a study was made of the factors influencing the
energy-ratio of the return flow type of tunnel.
3
The Tsing Hua 5-ft. wind tunnel served as a
convenient model for obtaining experimental
data,
1
which allowed the preliminary study to
be extended.
5
With this information on
energy-ratio in general form, a design was
chosen to give a high energy ratio consistent
with constructional costs. The performance of
this basic design was plotted in terms of
various nominal diameters and power, as shown
in Fig. 3. It is seen that in order to attain a
certain Reynolds number, larger tunnels require
less power. This fact enables the setting up of
a minimum cost problem. In this case, for
instance, a design Reynolds number of about
18 X 10" was chosen, based on throat diameter
and velocity. Taking the sum of motor cost
plus estimated constructional cost, and giving
weight tooperating power costs, a minimum is
reached at a certain combination of size and
power. For the present case the minimum
occurred at a nominal diameter of 15ft. and a
450h.p. power plant. In addition to Un-
favourable economic feature of this choice, it
has the important advantage of placing the
tunnel in a class capable of full size engine and
airscrew tests.
The estimated energy-ratio, based on brake
horsepower, is about 58 for closed throat
operation. This would correspond to an air
speed at the 15-ft. throat of about 130m.p.h.
Aerodynamic Design
The main features of the aerodynamic design
of the tunnel were carried out in the early
summer of 1936. During this period the author
had the co-operation of the Tsing Hua aero-
nautical staff, namely, Professors K. L. Feng
and W. Y. Yin, together with Assistants C. C.
Chang anil T. C. Ku. Detail designs were
made by the members of the graduating class in
aeronautics at the University.
The general arrangement of the tunnel is
shown in Fig. 4. It is circular throughout,
with a normal diameter of 15ft. at the test
section. Expansion follows in a diffuser of
about 8 deg. included angle until a diameter of
23 ft. is reached at the first corner. This
diameter is maintained, for simplicity of con-
struction, through the second corner and the
airscrew section in the return circuit. Then
expansion takes place again in the second
diffuser until the maximum diameter of 34 ft.
is attained at the third corner. This diameter
remains constant until reduced again to 15ft.
through the entrance cone.
Several features enabling special tests to be
made concerning the aerodynamic behaviour
of the tunnel proper will now be mentioned.
1. Pressure Orifices in the Tunnel Wall
The tunnel was designed in accordance with
the principles of Ref. 5, where energy-ratio was
expressed in terms of losses in the component
parts of the tunnel circuit. Since, however,
available experimental data on the subject
have generally been limited to low Reynolds
September, 1939 A I R C R A F T E N G I N E E R I N G 347
numbers, it was decided to make use of the
present tunnel for an extension of loss investi-
gations. For this reason, a series of static
pressure orifices were installed in the tunnel
walls at frequent stations around the entire
circuit. Fixtures were also provided for con-
venient mounting of pitot combs at sections
where velocity traverses are of importance.
In this way, in addition togaining information
on the behaviour of largowind tunnels, investi-
gations could be made concerning the effect
on energy ratioof various operating conditions.
2. Guide Vanes
The guide vanes at the corners are of the
Gttingen type. They are cast of reinforced
concrete, except for adjustable steel tails, and
fasten rigidly tothe tunnel walls. The spacing
between the vanes is sufficient to allow a man
to walk through. This fact makes the tunnel
circuit conveniently available for inspection.
Concerning scale effect on guide vanes little
is known. Ref. 5presents some data on guide
vane losses for small tunnels, but for future
design information it is of great importance to
have considerably more experimental data,
especially on the behaviour of larger vanes.
For this reason, several vanes in each corner of
the 15-ft. tunnel were provided with static
orifices at frequent stations around the profile.
In addition, provisions were made for making
velocity traverses before and after the vanes.
In this way, investigations can be made con-
cerning vane behaviour at various settings of
the adjustable tails, as well as for various
tunnel operating conditions. A typical vane
for one of the 34-ft. corners is shown in Fig. 5.
Structural Design
if a wind tunnel of this type is thought of as
a series of horizontal cylindrical tubes, thin-
shell theory may be applied to the individual
sections, resulting in essential economy of
material. For instance, the large D.V.L.
tunnel in Purlin," by using the Zeiss-Dywidag
method, needed reinforced concrete walls of
only 7 cm. in thickness. Although the Tsing
Hua wind tunnel is similar in general arrange-
ment to the German tunnel, the application of
the thin-shell theory was complicated by the
fact that the locality of the structure exposed
it to tropical storms. For this reason, a
simplified extension of thin-shell methods was
made to include the influence of side winds.
The results have been published in Ref. 7, and
only a brief summary will now be given.
The problem considered is a horizontal
concrete tube of length L, rigidly supported at
the two ends by concrete rings, as shown in
Fig. 6. If the wall thickness is small in pro-
portion to the radius of the tube, thin-shell
theory has shown that continuous surface loads
applied tothe shell cause chiefly direct stresses
in the walls. The shell acts as a membrane,
with nobending stresses normal to the surface
except for a narrow region near the rigid ring
supports. For reinforced concrete construction
this means a great simplification, since only one
layer of reinforcing bars is required. If the
reinforcement is arranged according to the
direction of principal stresses, the required
thickness of concrete is small
8
.
In the present case the external forces are
first the (lead weight of the wall material, of
specific weight y, and second the pressure due
to an external side wind of velocity V, with
stagnation point at = 90 deg. The actual
pressure distribution caused by a side wind
would be influenced by several factors, such as
Reynolds number and proximity to the ground.
However, for the present analysis an assumption
is made which errs on the safe side ; namely,
the supposition that the pressure distribution
over the region between 9 = 0 and 180 degs, is
similar to that given by potential flow around a
cylinder, while over the leeward portion there
is breakaway of flow with constant pressure in
the wake. Under these conditions, maximum
stresses occur in the windward half of the
cylinder, but since in practice the wind may
blow from either direction, it is considered safe
to use the same maximum values for both
halves.
An interesting result of the analysis is that
the stresses due to dead weight alone are
independent of wall thickness, while the
additional stress due to external wind pressure
is inversely proportional to the wall thickness.
I n this way it is evident that the wind stress
may easily become the critical factor influencing
the choice of wall thickness. This may be
illustrated by calculated curves for a typical
case, namely, for the large section of the 15-ft.
wind tunnel between the fourth corner and the
entrance cone. The diameter is 34 ft. and the
distance between supports is 50 ft.
The stress distributions for this section are
plotted in Figs. 7, 8 and 9 for several cases,
namely, with dead weight alone (stress
independent of wall thickness), and with a side
348 A I R C R A F T E N G I N E E R I N G September, 1939
wind of 80m.p.h. for wall thicknesses of 3 in.
and 4in., respectively. Longitudinal stress,
fr, is shown in Fig. 7, and ring stress, fr, in
Fig. 8. The curves of f
L
are for the centre span
section where the corresponding stresses are a
maximum, while ring stress is independent of
span. The shearing stress curves, f, are given
in Fig. 9 for the section at the end of the span,
where shear is maximum.
These curves show how the influence of side
wind becomes decisive in selecting wall thick-
ness for the present case. Specification of
maximum allowable stress determines corre-
sponding minimum wall thickness. Applica-
tion of this method to all sections of the 15-ft.
tunnel resulted in a final selection of 3in. as
wall thickness for most sections.
Another problem arose in the determination
of stresses in the supporting rings for the
concrete tubes. A similar problem for steel
tubes, neglecting ring weight, has been treated
by Schorer
9
. For concrete, however, the ring
weight is not negligible and, for this reason, an
extension to the analysis was made and
described is in Kef. 10. In this study, the
effects of varying the ring weight and the
support spacing are considered separately, their
nature being shown in curve form. Finally,
the problem of optimum spacing for a given
ring weight is considered, together with the
corresponding bending moment coefficients.
The last mentioned effect is shown in Fig. 10.
In this figure, r is the radius of the neutral axis
of the ring section, and a is the spacing between
the axis of one supporting leg and the vertical
tangent to the ring axis. The sign of a is
positive when the support axis lies within the
ring axis tangent, as shown in Fig. 6. Q.
represents the shell weight alone, acting at one
ring, and Q
T
is the shell weight plus ring
weight, acting at one end of the tube. M is
the maximum absolute bending moment acting
in the ring. It is interesting to note that the
optimum spacing is positive for heavier ring
weights, but passes through zeroas the relative
ring weight decreases and has, as negative
limit, a value of a/r = 004 for zero ring
weight. This limiting value checks with
Schorer's calculation for zeroring weight.
In addition to the above information con-
cerning stresses, one further factor had to be
considered in the design of the tunnel structure,
namely, temperature expansion. The tunnel
is exposed to the elements and is subject to
wide temperature variations. In order to
allow for expansion, the first three corners of
the tunnel were supported on sliding bases,
while only the fourth was rigidly fastened to
its foundation. In addition, expansion joints
were provided in the middle of the large diffuser,
as well as on both sides of the airscrew section.
The general construction procedure was as
follows. First, all foundations were poured,
after which the forms for the complete lower
half of the tunnel were erected. Then, after
installation of the reinforcement, a segment of
about 120degs. at the bottom of the cylinder
was poured. It was found that by using a
rather dry mixture of concrete, with a gravel
size of in. or less, noinner forms were needed
for this section. For the more sloping sections
at the side, however, inner forms and a wetter
mixture were used. After completion of the
lower half of the tunnel around the entire
circuit, forms for the upper half were erected.
The procedure was then similar tothat for the
lower half.
The contractor in charge of actual con-
struction work on the tunnel was Mr. H. S.
Huang, while Mr. C. C. Chang acted as repre-
sentative and supervisor for Tsing Hua
University. Both of these men should receive
credit for finding many ingenious ways of
utilizing local manual labour and simple tools
for such a specialized structure
Test Section Arrangement
The only portions of the tunnel not made of
concrete are the removable steel sections
enclosed by the experimental building. In the
design of these sections, flexibility of purpose-
was the chief requirement. In order that the
tunnel be adaptable toa wide variety of tests,
provisions were made for five interchangeable
diameters, namely, 7 ft. 6 in., 10ft., 15ft.,
18 ft. and 20ft., each of which to be capable
of either closed or open throat operation. The
normal diameter is 15ft., at which value the
energy-ratio is maximum. The two chief
auxiliary diameters are 18 ft. for tests of larger
engines and airscrews than advisable for normal
diameter, and 10ft. for model tests at higher
speeds. There is to be expected, of course, a
certain decrease of energy-ratio for these two
auxiliary diameters, as pointed out in Ref. 5.
The drop in efficiency is much greater for the
twoextreme diameters of 7 ft. 6 in. and 20ft.,
but these are planned only for special tests
where high energy-ratiois not essential.
For any one diameter, the steel cylindrical
sections are split longitudinally intotwo halves
and bolted together, sothat it is only necessary
to remove the upper half of the shell when
changing models during closed throat operation.
An overhead travelling crane is provided to
facilitate all changes of the test section.
A sketch of one open throat arrangement for
full-scale airscrew tests is shown in Fig. 11.
Power Plant
The four-bladed airscrew is directly coupled
to a 450h.p. motor mounted in the return
circuit of the tunnel. The airscrew blades are
of laminated wood, fastened to steel shafts
which in turn are clamped in a cast-steel hub.
The hub is split into two halves, and is bolted
together in such a way that the pitch of the
blades may be easily adjusted before beginning
a test. This is especially desirable in order to
obtain the best efficiency for different tunnel
diameters. Fig. 12 shows the airscrew and
motor assembly.
In order to counteract rotation set up by
the airscrew, it was decided toinstall a system
of nine radial guide vanes in front of the
airscrew. This guide vane location was chosen
for two reasons ; first, because the required
speed of airscrew rotation is somewhat lower,
thereby reducing the high centrifugal stresses
associated with a fan of largo diameter, and
second, to aid in smoothing out flow ir-
regularities produced by the preceding corner.
As driving motor for the airscrew, a British
Thomson Houston 450-h.p. induction motor
was chosen, with a normal speed of 365r.p.m.,
but capable of smooth speed reduction down to
150r.p.m. by means of a variable resistance in
the rotor circuit.
The choice of an induction motor, as com-
pared with a direct current motor with Ward
Leonard control, means an essential saving in
initial cost, simplicity of operation, and a lower
line power consumption at rated motor speed.
The last item is important because of the
relatively high local power costs. On the
(Concluded on p. 350)
350 A I R C R A F T E N G I N E E R I N G September, 1939
CHINA' S LARGE WIND TUNNEL
(Concluded from p. 448)
other hand, the drop in efficiency of such a
motor at reduced speeds is of minor importance,
since the majority of tests are planned at rated
motor speed. In addition, a wider range of
air speed is available than the limitations of
motor speed would indicate, owing to the fact
that several different test section diameters may
be used.
The motor support is built from heavy steel
H-sections, passing through the tunnel wall,
and fastened to a separate base of reinforced
concrete, as shown in Fig. 10. In this way,
loads and vibrations from the motor are
prevented from being transmitted tothe tunnel
shell.
Apparatus
Since the tunnel was designed for testing
aeroplane models as well as full size engines and
airscrews, it was thought advantageous to
provide two separate balance systems. For
model tests, a system similar tothat used in the
Tsing Hua 5-ft. wind tunnel was chosen. The
design of the six-component model suspension
system and automatic balances was directed by
Prof. K. L. Feng, whowas responsible for the
5-ft. tunnel balance system
11
. In order to
facilitate the construction of the new balances,
it was decided to have the critical parts made
at the California Institute of Technology, where
balances of the desired range and accuracy are
in operation, but to have the rest of the con-
struction done in China. The model balance
room is situated directly above the test section.
The full-scale balance system is shown in
Fig. 9. The test fuselage or nacelle with
engine installed, is mounted on three struts,
two of which are fastened to the wheel hubs.
The third strut is attached near the tail and
varies the angle of incidence by means of a
remote-control telescoping mechanism. The
struts in turn are supported by a triangular
framework, located below the tunnel jet, and
the entire system rests on four Fairbanks
platform scales. Lift, drag, pitching and rolling
moments are the four components measured.
This system is similar in principle tothat of the
N.A.C.A. 20-ft. tunnel
12
. In addition, pro-
vision is made for mounting the entire balance
system on a turntable in case measurements in
yaw should be desired.
For more complete tests on aero-engines
alone, a separate engine test stand is under
development, employing a 1,000h.p. Froude
dynamometer.
For preliminary studies of flow conditions in
the 15-ft. tunnel, a one-tenth scale model has
been constructed. The model tunnel has the
added advantage that it may be utilized later
for instrument calibration as well as qualitative
tests of proposed investigations for the large
tunnel. This should aid materially in eliminat-
ing non-essentials and contributing to the
underlying motifs of simplicity, economy and
flexibility, soimportant for present-da)' China.

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