Design of a Diffuser for a Subsonic Wind Tunnel Using CFD

Abstract

In this paper, the design of a diffuser for a suction type subsonic wind tunnel equipped with three axial fans has been taken into account by CFD. The tunnel test section has a 140 cm height and 195cm width. For numerical modeling the axial fans that contains 10 rotor blades and 13 stator blades 3D modeling to simulate the impeller have been used. The 3D modeling to simulate the impeller method provides an adequate means for simulating the swirl effects of air flow. The best geometrical characteristics have been selected for designing the optimal performance for the diffuser. The final design includes a circular diffuser which incorporates a 4 degree equivalent cone angle. This study also suggests that the circular scheme is superior to the triangular and fitted design aspect of the total pressure loss and the volumetric flow rate.

Keywords

• wind tunnel
• computational fluid dynamics
• diffuser
• axial fan
• 3d modeling to simulate the impeller