The wind tunnel

Summary

Wind tunnels are commonly used model the interaction between objects and local air currents during the design phase, and we use them to improve the design of building structures to reduce building stress, remove “dead spots”, and otherwise improve the flow of air around or into buildings.  High definition cameras allow us to visualize air currents, as well as particulate matter, which provides information on where particulate matter- including microbial particles- are likely to accumulate or to flow into ventilation sources.  This functionality aids in designing ventilation strategies to control where in the system particles are intentionally removed from air, ideally in an energy-neutral way.

Photos

Videos

Developed in collaboration with Ralph Budwig at the University of Idaho exploring natural ventilation at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, Idaho Falls

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