What is the National Wind Tunnel Facility?

The National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF) (EPSRC grant EP/L024888/1) is a new initiative in which 17 tunnels distributed across seven UK universities (host institutions) are made open access (for up to 25% of time) to external users, both university and industry based. The scheme which is aimed at keeping the UK at the forefront of aerodynamic and fluid mechanics research was announced on 9th January 2014 by David Willetts, Minister for Science and Universities. Total funding of £13.3 million, (£10.7 million coming from EPSRC and £2.6 million from the UK Aerodynamics Centre) has been invested in the refurbishment of some existing facilities, new hardware and brand new facilities.

The original criteria for selection of wind tunnels to be included in NWTF were:

1. The host university is clearly committed to wind tunnels
2. The host university is research intensive
3. The investigators local to the facility must be prepared to demonstrate best practice

Future revisions of which wind tunnels are included in NWTF would assess candidate wind tunnels against these same criteria, with a consideration of the overall balance of tunnel capabilities.

Aims

The NWTF aims at keeping the UK at the forefront of aerodynamic and fluid mechanics research. Recognising that the UK has a world-class talent base, the decision to fund the NWTF was taken to match this talent base to world-class facilities. The paradigm shift provided by NWTF is expected to provide for an overall transformative benefit, establish a world-leading capability while being cost-effective and appealing to multiple sectors. The enhanced UK capability in experimental aerodynamics is available to all UK-based researchers and aims to create nodes of excellence attracting young researchers. The NWTF also aims to establish a closer tie with industry creating a pull-through environment and an intended spill-over of the collaboration and benefits to other sectors.

Using a facility of the NWTF

The NWTF is open for business. Researchers interested in making use of one of the facilities listed in the table below and in the Facilities section will be expected to open a dialogue with the NWTF personnel at an early stage of the formulation of a proposal to ensure that Facility capabilities are best matched to the proposer’s research ideas. This is especially important for new users.

A Technical Annex (TA) (download by clicking here) would need to be completed and sent to NWTF Project Manager Dr Kevin Gouder at admin@nwtf.ac.uk so that discussions with the Wind Tunnel Managers / Owners at the host institutions can start and the time, facility, equipment and support allocated accordingly (a copy of the TA is included at the end of this document too). A brief abstract description of the proposed research needs to be completed in the TA and submitted with any supporting documentation deemed necessary. Completion of this TA will imply permission for user details to be stored in the NWTF and EPSRC’s databases and to be used for mailing, accounting, reporting and other administrative purposes.

Visits to the Facility to discuss how to enable the technical and scientific aspirations of the user and to meet the personnel involved will normally be required. Potential Intellectual Property (IP) will be identified and recorded at this stage in an IP-register and plans put in place for appropriate protection. Where required, non-disclosure agreements will be offered to and signed with potential users. Note that the proposal is not assessed at this stage (this is the responsibility of the funding agency/research council) but the description would help in identifying the right facility, the right equipment and the right level of support required to make the proposed research succeed. EPSRC-funded proposals would be given top priority when it comes to agreeing usage of the wind tunnel and accompanying equipment.

This is a summary of the procedures to use a facility of the NWTF:

1. Interested user/researcher contacts the NWTF Project Manager with a completed (as far as possible) Technical Annex.
2. Project Manager initiates contact with personnel at facility indicated by user.
3. Meeting/visit set up to discuss details, identify IP, complete TA, and the go-ahead given if both sides agree.
4. A decision on acceptance for the facility and equipment use is made. If appropriate, alternative wind tunnel facilities are also proposed.
5. Continuous interaction between Facility managers and user during proposal writing (if applicable) will take place (monitored by NWTF Project Manager).
6. Final resource request will be agreed, costed and recorded on a pro-forma for submission to EPSRC with proposal (if applicable).
7. Proposal Submission: Any user planning to use an NWTF facility, applying for EPSRC, BBSRC or NERC funding through JeS, should select NWTF as a facility although they should put £0 against it. The wind tunnel costs are then claimed under Directly Incurred Costs. Where asked for a Technical Assessment during proposal submission, the completed and signed Technical Annex should be uploaded.
8. User requested to fill in Customer feedback form on effectiveness of this important part of the interaction with User groups.
9. On being informed by EPSRC and the user that the proposal has been funded (if applicable), a meeting is held at the facility between the user and the managers – time-scales for the work and technical requirements are further discussed in detail and agreed upon.