Aerodynamicists use wind tunnels to test models of proposed aircraft.

In the
tunnel, the engineer can carefully control the flow conditions which affect forces
on the aircraft. By making careful measurements of the forces on the model, the
engineer can predict the forces on the full scale aircraft. And by using special
diagnostic techniques(some experiments), the engineer can better understand and
improve the performance of the aircraft.

Wind tunnels are designed for a specific purpose and speed range and there is a
wide variety of wind tunnel types and model instrumentation. The model to be tested
in the wind tunnel is placed in the test section of the tunnel. The speed in the
test section is determined by the design of the tunnel. The choice of speed range
affects the design of the wind tunnel due to compressibility effects.

For subsonic flows, the air density remains nearly constant and decreasing the
cross-sectional area causes the flow to increase velocity and decrease pressure.
Similarly, increasing the area causes the velocity to decrease and the pressure to
increase. We want the highest possible velocity in the test section. For a subsonic
wind tunnel, the test section is placed at the end of the contraction section and
upstream of the diffuser. From a knowledge of the conservation of mass for subsonic
flows, we can design the test section to produce a desired velocity or Mach number
since the velocity is a function of the cross-sectional area. On the figure, we
note the changes in Mach number, velocity and pressure through a subsonic wind
tunnel design.

As a subsonc flow is contracted, the velocity and Mach number increase. When the
velocity reaches the speed of sound (M = 1), the flow chokes and the Mach number
can not be increased beyond M = 1.

Motivation of diffuser:
Firstly parameter or key points are affected the diffuser and later considered the
remaining points.
Other parameters such as conditions
at entry and exit and boundary layer control devices, if any, also affect the
diffuser
performance. With an arbitrary combination of these parameters, the flow through a
diffuser
becomes too difficult to predict in detail. The issue is furt',er complicated by
the occasional
presence of flow separation caused by the adverse pressure gradients present in a
diffuser

The general problems of predicting the behaviour of turbulent flow

make the diffuser one of the least understood fluid flow devices.

Exit diffuser:
Exit diffusers, as fitted, for example, after a wind tunnel working
section, generally have very gentle expansions with an "equivalent cone angle" of
between
about 5 ° (for best flow steadiness) and IO ° (for best pressure recovery), and an
area ratio
(outlet to inlet) not exceeding about 2.5. The equivalent cone angle of a diffuser
is defined
as the included angle of a circular cone having the same inlet area, outlet area
and length
as the given diffuser. In the case of a two-dimensional diffuser, the concept of an
equivalent
wedge is more useful. It is important to have a reasonable degree Of flow
steadiness in the
exit diffuser, since otherwise the pressure recovery tends to fluctuate with time,
and there"
fore so does the tunnel speed if the input power is nearly constant. The flow in
this class
of diffusers is intended to be fully attached and their design is fairly well
catered for by
existing methods.

For supersonic flows, the air density changes in the tunnel because of
compressibility. In fact, the density changes faster than the velocity by a factor
of the square of the Mach number. In a supersonic flow, decreasing the cross-
sectional area causes the flow to decrease in velocity and increase pressure.
Similarly, increasing the area causes the velocity to increase and the pressure to
decrease. This change in properties is exactly the opposite of the change that
occurs subsonically. In addition, compressible flows experience mass flow choking.
As a subsonc flow is contracted, the velocity and Mach number increase. When the
velocity reaches the speed of sound (M = 1), the flow chokes and the Mach number
can not be increased beyond M = 1. We want the highest possible velocity in the
test section of the wind tunnel. For a supersonic wind tunnel, we contract the flow
until it chokes in the throat of a nozzle. We then diffuse the flow which increases
the speed supersonically. The test section of the supersonic tunnel is placed at
the end of the diffuser. From a consideration of conservation of mass for a
compressible flow, we can design the test section to produce a desired velocity or
Mach based on the area in the test section. On the figure we note the changes in
Mach number, velocity and pressure through a supersonic wind tunnel design.

Notice that in both supersonic and subsonic designs, the velocity is increased and
the pressure is decresed relative to the station upstream of the test section. In a
subsonic tunnel the area is contracting into the test section; in a supersonic
tunnel the area is increasing. The physical reason for this seeming contradiction
is given on the wind tunnel theory

Diffuser: ( blower tunnel; open circuit)

A difiser of at least three or four test-section lengths. The typical equivalent
cone angle is in the range of 2-33" with the smaller angles being more
desirable. The area ratio is typically 2-3, again with the smaller values being
more desirable.

The expanding passage or "diffuser" downstream of the working section is intended

to
slow the flow down and recover some of its kinetic energy in the form of a pressure
rise, thus
reducing power consumption.

Wide-angle diffuser with separation control screens. Typical properties are

angles of about 45 and area ratios of 2-4.

applications:

wind tunnels have been designed and constructed to

perform a wide range of aerodynamic tests.
spin tunnels, icing tunnels,
other items including buildings, flutter, store separations,
windmills, skiers, skydivers, and dynamic tests.
meteorological tunnels, tunnels designed for the testing of buildings, and others
low-speed tunnels, however, can be classified as general-purpose tunnels
(classification)

what is wide angle diffuser:

The uniformity of flow in a wind tunnel can be greatly improved
if a contraction section or nozzle of large area ratio is provided immediately
upstream of the
working section. If a large diffuser area ratio is required, so as to provide a
large contraction
ratio, a long conventional diffuser, with an equivalent cone angle of 5 ° , is
undesirable
economically. For instance if a modest contraction ratio of 12 is required a 5 °
diffuser with
a length of 20 times the working-section diameter would be needed.
This is a "wide-angle" diffuser, defined as a diffuser in which the cross-sectional
area increases so
rapidly that separation can be avoided only by using boundary layer control. In
this survey,
all diffusers with an equivalent cone angle of greater than 6 ° are taken as wide-
angle
A wide-angle diffuser should be regarded as a means of reducing the length of a
diffuser of
given area ratio, rather than a device to effect pressure recovery.

mian concerns;
Uniformity and steadiness of the flow at the diffuser exit are of prime concern
since this affects the performance of
vital components downstream.

Screens in Diffusers:(importance of screens)

One of the most popular means of preventing separation in wide-angle diffusers is
by introducing
screens of perforated metal or, more usually, woven wire gauze.
A screen is usually specified by the "mesh", defined as the number of openings per
lineal inch (i/£),
and by the wire diameter (d). Given these two specifications , 8[~(I - d/£)2], the
screen
open-area ratio can be determined.

Therefore a screen, besides removing the direct effects of boundary layer growth
and incipient separations, gives the boundary layer a new lease of life so that a
further pressure rise can be negotiated without separation.

Gauze screens:
Make the velocity profile more uniform and reduce the boundary layer thickness.
The ability of a boundary layer to withstand a given adverse pressure gradient is
increased when the boundary layer thickness is decreased.

Screens also reduce the turbulence intensity level in the

boundary layer and refract the incident flow, upstream and downstream of the gauze.
These
last two factors, however, do not necessarily take the boundary layer further away
from
separation.
Screens at boundary layer:
Screens also reduce the turbulence intensity level in the boundary layer and
refract the incident flow, upstream and downstream of the gauze. These last two
factors, however, do not necessarily take the boundary layer further away from
separation.

the corner flow in a wide-angle diffuser of rectangular cross-section is still

liable
to separate because of secondary flow effects, but this just "fills-up" the corners
and does
not present a major problem.

The effectiveness of a conventional woven wire screen depends largely on its

pressure drop
coefficient (K), which is defined as the ratio of the static pressure drop across
the screen
(Ap) to the dynamic pressure of the uniform parallel flowapproaching perpendicular
to the
screen plane (q = 0.5 pU2).

The simple
formulae suggest that a single screen with (pressure drop coefficient) K = 2
eliminates small non-uniformlties.

Diffuser behaviour is greatly affected by the flow condition at entry. A relatively

thin
boundary layer with steady flow conditions at entry would no doubt delay separation
and improve
pressure recovery considerably.

Effect of Swirling:
The effect of swirling flow, characteristic of single-inlet centrifugal blowers
(see Section 4), in conical diffusers and found that the distribution of
longitudinal velocity component was more important than that of the circumferential
one. Liepe concluded that although rotation decreased the diffuser efficiency, it
was possible to use it to advantage in preventing separation.

What is Short diffuser:

A short diffuser, with a
large area ratio and consequently a large equivalent cone angle, is then installed.

inclined seperation:
Conversely, non-uniform or inclined entry flow can lead to early separation.

SCreen vs diffuser:
The effect of inlet conditions on the outlet velocity profile is less in screened
diffusers than in any other type of diffuser.

Diffuser efficiency (~) can be defined as the ratio of the gain in pressure energy
to the loss
in kinetic energy. For the simplest case where the velocity is uniform over the
cross-section.

ThiS efficiency is generally low when the prevention of separation depends on the
action of
one or more screens.The principal losses are due to the pressure drop across the
screens.
Wide angle diffuser:

Screens vs Wide-angle diffusers:

In a wide-angle diffuser it is better to use several screens, each with a
relatively low value
of K (say between I and 2), placed preferably at the points where the flow would
otherwise
separate than to use a single screen with a large K.

K effect:
This is because increasing K at one
station in the diffuser has little effect on the skin friction at a station much
further downstream.

efficient diffuser:
The most efficient diffuser, needing the fewest screens, will usually have curved
walls (in side view), minimizing the adverse pressure gradient.

straight-wall diffusers, with discontinuities of wall slope at entry and exit, are
easier to build and perform
satisfactorily if the equivalent cone angle is not too large.

In the case of a convex corner, persistent separation is liable to occur at the

corner. The positioning of screens, as will become apparent later, is also of vital
importance, particularly
in straight-wail diffusers.

They also designed and tested a natural streamline-shape diffuser, and derived a
relationship
between A and K for straight-walled diffusers.

Second diffuser
The second diffuser usually extends from the fan section to the third comer. As
indicated in the earlier discussion, in many tunnels this diffuser continues the
expansion to the desired total area ratio. Again, the equivalent cone angle should
be 5" or less. A favored design in recent facilities is to have a wide-angle
diffuser
following the third comer so the second diffuser may not provide the final
expansion.
The fan at the entrance gives an almost constant total pressure profile.
There are two likely sources of trouble in the second diffuser. The first is flow
separation on the aft portion of the nacelle. The second in many rectangular
tunnels
is that the flow downstream of the fan may have nonuniform velocity distribution.
In a flow improvement program at the University of Washingtons3 model tunnel
studies showed very low velocities in the comers. The flow at the third comer was
higher on the inside of the turn. However, the upflow-cross-flow distribution prior
to the turn did not exhibit a discemable flow pattern similar to the test section.
After the tum there were two distinct rotations in the upper and lower half of the
duct. A model tunnel test section exhibited a similar cross-flow gradient to that
present in the full-scale tunnel. Although this problem sounds like a secondary
flow
produced by the velocity gradients prior to the tum, in all cases the sense of the
rotation was reversed.

It was discovered that when the antiswirl vanes were uniformly deflected either
positively to reduce fan swirl or negatively to increase fan swirl the comers were
filled and the cross-flow gradient was reduced but not eliminated. In the final
tunnel
modification the antiswirl vanes, which originally were simple flat plates hinged
to
the nacelle supports, were redesigned. The chord of the antiswirl vanes was
increased.
They were made into cambered airfoil sections using the nacelle struts for a
leading
edge. This modification filled the comers of the second diffuser and eliminated
flow
separation regions on the original flat-plate vanes. The new cambered vanes were
deflected to 12" and resulted in a much more uniform velocity distribution with all
four comers filled with higher energy flow. This flow improvement in the second
diffuser and fourth comer also reduced the power consumption at all speeds by
about 2.0%.

wide angle diffuser

Wide-angle diffusers are used to obtain a higher overall area ratio for a given
circuit
length rather than for pressure recovery. Of course the pressure loss is to be
minimized
to the extent possible while achieving the other objectives. A diffuser is classed
as
"wide angle" when its cross section increases so quickly with axial distance that
separation can be avoided only by use of boundary layer control. There are several
means of boundary layer control, including suction, blowing, and insertion of fine
mesh screens. The latter is the most common since it is usually the most
economical.
Mehta and BradshawZ9h ave given guidelines for wide-angle diffusers in terms of
four parameters: area ratio AR, diffuser angle 20, number of screens n, and total
loss

coefficient K,.,. For a tunnel that will be outfitted with a heat exchanger, it
could
be used as a loss element in the wide-angle diffuser. Figure 3.9 gives boundaries
for number of screens as a function of diffuser area ratio and divergence angle.
The
total loss coefficient required of the screens is larger as the area ratio
increases. The
boundary is given as Equation (3.42), where Ksum=sigma deltaplq:

Diffuser:
The diffuser" of a return wind tunnel typically extends from the downstream end
of the test section to the third comer of the tunnel. It is divided into two parts
by
the tunnel fan. The second diffuser and fan section is often called the return duct
or passage. The first diffuser usually extends to the first comer. Since the power
losses at any point in the tunnel are expected to vary as the speed cubed, the
purpose
of the diffuser is to reduce the speed with as little energy loss as possible.
Minimum
energy loss corresponds to maximum pressure recovery. It is generally desirable to
reduce the speed in the shortest possible distance without incurring flow
separation.
This will obtain good efficiency and will help to reduce construction costs by
reducing the overall size of the tunnel shell. Obtaining good performance from the
diffuser is critical to the success of the tunnel. Diffusers are sensitive to
design
errors that may cause either intermittent separation or steady separation. Such
separations
can be hard to localize but can cause vibrations, oscillating fan loading,
oscillations in test-section velocities (often called surging), and increased
losses in
the tunnel downstream of their origin.
The primary parameters for a diffuser are the equivalent conical expansion angle
and the area ratio. Consider a conical diffuser with a radius R, at the entrance,
radius
R, at the exit, and length L as indicated in Figure 3.5. Most wind tunnel diffusers
are not conical.

Commonly used cross sections are rectangular or nearly rectangular with reasons
closely paralleling the reasons given for choosing test sections with plane walls.
The equivalent conical angle is defined as follows. Let R1 be one-half the entrance
hydraulic diameter Dl. Let R, be one-half the exit hydraulic diameter D2 and AR be
A21AI. Then the equivalent conical expansion angle is given by

Some discussions of diffuser angles use twice the equivalent angle defined here
so care should be taken when reviewing data on diffuser performance.
Diffusers are common elements in fluid flow devices, and in many applications
the equivalent cone angle can be quite large. The principal constraint on the angle
is that it be sufficiently small so that the turbulent boundary layer does not
separate.
Relatively large angles are possible for the case of uniform flow entering the
upstream
end of the diffuser. The flow leaving a wind tunnel test section, however,
is anything but uniform. There can be wakes from model mounting struts and ground
plane support struts; deflected wakes from the model, both laterally and
vertically;
large separated wakes when a model is stalled in pitch and yaw; or simply a large
wake from bluff body models such as automobiles or parachutes. Also, the influence
of the corner vanes in the first comer may have adverse effects. Current practice
calls for an equivalent cone angle of 3.0" or less in conjunction with typical area
ratios of around 3.
The pressure recovery and pressure gradients and therefore the
risk of separation are dependent on both the cone angle and the area ratio.19 Thick
boundary layers at the diffuser entrance will increase the risk of separation. If a
very long 2.5" diffuser is used to obtain a large contraction ratio, there is
danger of
separation. Therefore, the total (both halves of the diffuser) tends to be limited
to
area ratios of 5 : 1 or 6 : 1, half of the area ratio in each half of the diffuser.
This
area ratio limits the tunnel contraction ratio. To achieve larger contraction
ratios, a
wide-angle diffuser is used before the settling chamber. These are typically
diffusers
with an area ratio in the range of 2-4 and an equivalent 22.5" cone angle. Screens
may be used to smooth out the velocity variations and maintain satisfactory flow.
More will be said about large angle diffusers in a subsequent subsection. In the
present section, relations will be given for typical conditions for the first and
second diffusers.
The retum passage will need access doors and windows, usually near the fan.
The doors and windows should be sealed and of adequate size to allow for
installation
and removal of the fan blades and the drive motor if it is placed in the
fan nacelle. Built-in lights near the fan are most useful. Provisions for pressure
rakes about a half-tunnel diameter ahead of the fan are very useful. The rake will
be used to adjust the first- and second-comer vanes to obtain a uniform velocity
front at the fan. Drains at the lowest point in the tunnel are also needed since
the tunnel will have to be either washed or steam cleaned at intervals during its
lifetime.

diffuser consideration: