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Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL)

University of Birmingham

Constructed in 2012, the Birmingham wind tunnel can generate approximately uniform flows or simulate the turbulence and velocity profiles of an atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) through the use of spires and roughness elements.

With uniform flow, it has been used to investigate optimum rider positions for racing cyclists, at full-scale. The wind tunnel is currently in the ABL configuration for a pedestrian-level wind safety study, measuring gust wind speeds at locations on a model of the university campus.

Location:
Birmingham
Test Section 1 size:
2m square working cross-section & 14m long working section
Current ABL length scale of 1:300
Operational Status:
Active
Test support:
Turntable 10m along the working section, allowing easy orientation of models
Designation:
Open-circuit tunnel
Performance:
Maximum Flow Speed: Maximum freestream wind-speed of approximately 10m/s
Testing Capabilities:
Data Acquisition: 500Hz, multi-channel pressure measurements systems are available for use with the tunnel, along with 2kHz Cobra probes for velocity measurements and Irwin probes for pedestrian-level studies.