New Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel, Bristol University

The new Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel has been added to the NWTF portfolio as part of a £500k fund allocated from the NWTF+ infrastructure grant. A further £1.4m has been funded by the University of Bristol.

This facility serves fields such as fundamental and applied aerodynamics, aeroacoustics, environmental flow, air pollution, and wind engineering and stands out for its multi-purpose applications, modular construction, and versatile operation — core principles that shape its design capabilities. The new wind tunnel will deliver the highest Re𝜏 in the UK and will be equipped with a programmable tilting roof, advanced tracer gas injection system, drag balance system, wavenumber-frequency spectrum plate, which together enable high-fidelity research for an unprecedented variety of wall-bounded turbulence activities, as well as research into low-drag surfaces, active/passive flow control methods, etc.

It also houses the largest acoustically-transparent Kevlar-wall in the UK and a state-of-the-art 3D beamforming array, enabling a variety of fundamental and industrially-relevant research in the UK, significantly improving the UK’s position in this field.

If you are interested in using this new facility contact NWTF.