Atmospheric boundary layer simulation in a short wind tunnel

This paper presents the design, computational analysis and experimental study of passive device configurations which utilized in the Ankara Wind Tunnel to simulate the atmospheric boundary layer within the test section. The study here is part of a joint project between the Aerospace and Civil Engineering Departments at Middle East Technical University, which involves testing of high-rise building models in the Ankara Wind Tunnel. The design consists of spires and rows of cubical surface roughness elements at the inlet. The preliminary computational analysis shows that the current design may provide the desired boundary layer thickness at about 4.0 m downstream of the test section inlet, which leaves enough room for the building models to be placed in the test section. This study also helps obtaining a preliminary understanding of the boundary layer development and reducing the tunnel operation time and cost during the actual experimentation phase. At the end, experimental results show acceptable results of this study.