Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy

Turbulent Flow Lab

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  • Water Tunnel facility in Packard Lab 172

The turbulent flow laboratory housed in Packard Lab 172 is home to a water tunnel facility that is used for laboratory scale testing of renewable energy systems. The facility has a test section of 60.96 cm × 60.96 cm and a length of 2.1m. The test section is also surrounded on two sides and the bottom by tempered glass to allow simultaneous viewing. Axial viewing is provided by the downstream window. The tunnel centerline is also located approximately at eye level to facilitate testing. The open area beneath the test section provides ample room for photographic or video recording equipment, including light fixtures. A maximum velocity of 1.1 m/s can be obtained.

  • Makita Style active grid to mimic hydraulic or natural in-stream conditions in the laboratory
    Outside water
    Makita Style active grid to mimic hydraulic or natural in-stream conditions in the laboratory
  • Makita Style active grid to mimic hydraulic or natural in-stream conditions in the laboratory under water
    Under water
    Makita Style active grid to mimic hydraulic or natural in-stream conditions in the laboratory
Turbulence Control and Generation 

Turbulence generation techniques using enhanced Makita type active grids have been developed in the laboratory of Prof. Arindam Banerjee to introduce enhanced levels of tunable free stream turbulence, gradients of velocity and turbulence kinetic energy Turbulence intensity in the range 2-25% can be obtained using these protocols.