More than a dozen land speed racers have tested in this tunnel with startling good results, improved stability, speeds and, of course. . . RECORDS!
Any serious inquiries can be made initially to LandSpeed Louise lsl458mph @ att.net
The DARKO tunnel is an open circuit, Eiffel style. It was professionally designed and calibrated.
Test results show repeatable numbers with less than 1% deviation between runs.
The wind tunnel began construction in 2010.
It took approx. 4800 man-hours to complete over a two+ year period not including building construction or the pit under the test section of the tunnel.
The tunnel is 100' long and 20'+ high at the inlet end.
The test section is shaped and approx. 9'-4" high in the center and 13'-6" wide, and 50' long.
The three fans are built by Howden and are 150 HP each, 460V, and are 6' in diameter.
The fans are controlled by a Mitsubishi Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) with remote controller in the control room.
The fans pull air through the test section then the air recirculates in the room.
Wind speed in the tunnel varies from about 10mph to 80mph depending on the desired speed and the shape and size of the test object.
Test object should not exceed 25 sq. ft. in frontal area for most accurate test results. This is the size of a full size car.
The VFD has incremental speed control for accurate airflow around the test object.
Under the floor of the test section is a pit which houses the balance. The pit is accessible by a staircase opposite the control room.
The balance is a large space frame and is mounted to Honeywell load cells which are designed to hold up to a 10,000 lb. vehicle.
There are seven load cells which measure lift, drag, and side forces.
All forces are calculated and recorded in an Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet displays coefficients for all six forces and moments.
It also calculates all forces in Drag HP, Drag LBs, Total Lift, Lift Front and Rear LBs, and Side LBs, all at a customer selected mph.
There is also a bicycle balance for testing cyclists and equipment. This balance was used to test 2000 elite cyclists.
Airflow is measured by 3 pitot tubes in the inlet and 2 static ports in the aft portion of the test section which feed to a pressure transducer panel.
Air tubulence is eliminated by a 3" thick aluminum honeycomb panel in the fore part of the test section. Plastic netting was added for better control.
Vehicles enter the tunnel through a hinged door in the aft of the tunnel next to the fans.
The current room dimensions are 49' wide, 140' long, and 35' high. A lower ceiling will be acceptable.
Included in the sale:
Complete wind tunnel structure from the inlet to the fan diffusers
Mitsubishi VFD
Balance with load cells and complete wiring to the control room
Bicycle balance platform with Computrainer installed
Ski Jumper beam
A large variety of car mounting stands
Complete computer system with Windows OS
Data Acquisition System including 13 pressure channels with pressure taps to the pit
Aerolab smoke generator wand
The buyer will be responsible for the building and the balance pit, all of which will be dimensionally specified in the sale.
At an additional cost, I can assemble everything on the new site for a "turn key" operation including training of new operator.
The complete wind tunnel will be broken down and palletized to ship. Reconstruction will take approx. 2-3 months when the building is ready.
The electrical wiring of the fans and control room will have to be done professionally on site.
Approximate cost to construct in 2010, not including the building or pit:
$400,000 package cost for design plans, computer hardware, software, Data Acquisitions System, bicycle balance, smoke wand
115,000 fans with inlet bells
30,000 VFD
80,000 materials
210,000 building preparation including the pit and electical
230,000 labor
Price: $600K
