Thought some of you might be interested in an update on our wind tunnel and PROVE Lab at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Below are some pictures of our new wind tunnel test section - Dan Gurney's old rolling road is in place (though awaiting extra 3 phase power into the lab before it's operational) and we've rebuilt around it; the new force balance is being tested as you read this; and we've acquired a stereo laser-based flow measurement system (PIV) which will allow us to measure vehicle wakes in 3-dimensions so we can see what modifications help close in the air at the rear. A dozen or so students are actively working to get all our systems up and running ASAP - as of January we have a working tunnel at least. Tesla Motors are sponsoring a project with us looking at wheel aerodynamics and real-time 3-d scanning measurement tire deformation as a pilot project we hope to extend, so we've been designing a support specifically for a full-size wheel for them (to add to the discussion we had before about wheels in the tunnel). We're also entering into a partnership with NASA Ames that will, in part, enhance our ability to play with some additional fun toys for getting the most possible data from tunnel testing.
What else is new?
We've been experimenting a lot with 3-d printing parts of wind tunnel models that can be used as modular additions to composite or aluminum models; handy when you want to look at some different fairing shapes or something like that. We're limited for size there but we've developed a nice workflow.
We've been significantly upgrading our CFD capabilities so we can crunch numbers on some serious design work; we're now running ANSYS and CD-Adapco software across hundreds of processors, allowing students to run through dozens of
accurate simulations of design variants in a handful of days.
We now have Cal Poly's Formula SAE (and F-SAE Electric), Shell Ecomarathon, Human Powered Vehicle and Solar Car teams doing aero development together (and some mech/composites/elec work), this is more of a test year for all concerned but we're expecting a bumper crop in 2017 to cement a reputation as a go-to place for young talent in vehicle aerodynamics. The Solar Car team is working on the design and logistics of breaking the solar-powered FIA record in summer 2017 (in California if we can!), with some more exciting alternative energy records to follow in successive years. We've already been able to secure quite a lot of funding for that so I'm not losing sleep yet =)
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As of mid-2016 we'll be effectively open for business. For LSR racers on a modest budget, short- and long-term sponsored projects will be extremely cost-effective as we're able to provide pre-trained students who can work on early-stage wind tunnel testing of designs, or CFD-based optimization, or both... Most of the students are able to work for academic credit too, which has been a big thing for me.
Being able to achieve a record-capable aerodynamic design from first manufacture rather than a build/race/modify/race/modify/race/modify etc. cycle is what our own students are aiming for and therefore this is the service I'd like us to be able to provide to anyone interested in partnering with us.