Aerodynamic and Acoustic Properties of a Vertical Suction Wind Tunnel Guide Vane

The paper presents tests of wind tunnel guide vanes with glass-fiber wool for reducing the airflow pressure loss and noise between the intake tower of a vertical suction wind tunnel and the corner of its section. After installing a double-arc airfoil guide vane with glass-fiber wool inside at the corner and determining how the guide vane influences the wind tunnel airflow through computer simulation, the numerical results showed that with seven double-arc airfoil guide vanes, the airflow pressure loss was reduced by 62%, the corner vortex was eliminated, and the flow field uniformity was improved. Furthermore, the loss of noise transmission in the wind tunnel with glass-fiber wool was simulated with different software. The results showed that the maximum noise absorption was 57.8 dB. Additionally, the average noise absorption was 31.9 dB when the windward side of the guide vane was a 5-mm-diameter perforated plate with a 0.3 porosity rate, and the internal filling with glass-fiber wool has a flow resistance of 4,896 Pa(.)s/m(2). Finally, a simulation of the perforated guide vanes was carried out, and the results showed that the perforated guide vanes improved the aerodynamic performance of the wind tunnel by 18.6% compared with the wind tunnel without the guide vanes. The research results can provide a reference for the multifunctional design of wind tunnel guide vanes.