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Corrections for wind tunnel experimental results are crucial when accounting for tunnel wall interference. This study introduces a new method, the non-uniform wall pressure signature method (NUWPSM), which is designed to address tunnel wall interference in airfoil. The improved wall pressure signature method (WPSM), an enhanced version of the WPSM, is developed to address the velocity disparities and systematic errors in pressure measurements between with and without model conditions. Furthermore, the NUWPSM considers the non-uniformity of the flow induced by the limited far-field effect in wind tunnel experiments. Utilizing experimental data from three different scaled models of the WA210 airfoil, the efficacy of both the Improved WPSM and NUWPSM is verified. Results indicate that the Improved WPSM exhibits superior capabilities in simulating the distribution of axial induced velocity along the wall compared to the traditional WPSM. Additionally, both the Improved WPSM and NUWPSM demonstrate comparable abilities in correcting tunnel wall interference, achieving precise corrections within an angle of attack range of −180° to +180°. Notably, the NUWPSM effectively captures the velocity non-uniformity induced by the limited far-field effect, thereby extending its applicability to a broader range of scenarios. Furthermore, the NUWPSM showcases enhanced robustness by eliminating human intervention in the singularity quantity and distribution.

Parallel sidewalls are the standard bounding walls in wind tunnels when making a wind tunnel model for free-flight condition. The consequence of confinement in wind tunnel tests, known as wall-interference, is one of the main sources of uncertainty in experimental aerodynamics, limiting the realizability of free-flight conditions. Although this has been an issue when designing transonic wind tunnels and/or in cases with large blockage ratios, even subsonic wind tunnels at low-blockage-ratios might require wall corrections if a good representation of free-flight conditions is intended. In order to avoid the cumbersome streamlining methods especially for subsonic wind tunnels, a sensitivity analysis is conducted in order to investigate the effect of inclined sidewalls as a reduced-order wall insert in the airfoil plane. This problem is investigated via Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulations, and a NACA4412 wing at the angles of attack between 0 and 11 degrees at a moderate Reynolds number (400 k) is considered. The simulations are validated with well-resolved large-eddy simulation (LES) results and experimental wind tunnel data. Firstly, the wall-interference contribution in aerodynamic forces, as well as the local pressure coefficients, are assessed. Furthermore, the isolated effect of confinement is analyzed independent of the boundary-layer growth. Secondly, wall-alignment is modified as a calibration parameter in order to reduce wall-interference based on the aforementioned assessment. In the outlined method, we propose the use of linear inserts to account for the effect of wind tunnel walls, which are experimentally simple to realize. The use of these inserts in subsonic wind tunnels with moderate blockage ratio leads to very good agreement between free-flight and wind tunnel data, while this approach benefits from simple manufacturing and experimental realization.

The experimental results obtained in a wind tunnel must be subjected to a correction process which aims to eliminate the influence of the limited dimensions of the flow field around the model. This is necessary because the results must be independent of the characteristics of the laboratory where they were obtained, in order to ensure the quality of the parameters.The wall corrections are applied to the global quantities that characterize the undisturbed flow, such as the Mach number or the dynamic pressure, but they are also applied to the quantities related to the model, namely the global aerodynamic coefficients.Consequently the corrections will be applied to the global quantities of the undisturbed flow and therefore they will be transmitted to the aerodynamic quantities related to the model.

In order to obtain accurate results in wind tunnel testing it is necessary to determine the effect of interaction between the flow around the model and the test section walls. In this paper, the classical theory for wind tunnel wall corrections assessment is used to evaluate the wall induced change in the circulation caused by the presence of the test article in the wind tunnel. This primary correction, also known as lift interference is based on the test section geometry and it is applied to the test article angle of attack. The computations performed in this paper employ the assumption of the potential linearized flow between the test section walls and the model. As well, the principle of superposition is a key element in this analysis.

This study proposes a novel method for correcting subsonic wind tunnel wall interference based on data-driven approaches, which achieves parameter efficiency and can be applied without any additional measurements. The proposed method involves selecting important parameters and correcting wall interference using a multi-layer perceptron (MLP). The prediction concepts are simplified from the conventional correction method into two methods: the Hybrid method, which predicts flights in wind tunnel state, and the Direct method, which predicts flights in free air state. The Hybrid method predicts the increment of the angle of attack ( Δ α ) and corrected aerodynamic coefficient ( C L c ), while the Direct method predicts the free air aerodynamic coefficient ( C L FA ). Three-dimensional wind tunnel state models and three-dimensional free air state models are built using a panel method to construct the database for the MLP. Data mining methods such as the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC), a self-organizing map (SOM), and a parallel coordinate plot (PCP) are used for parameter sensitivity analysis. As a result, 13 model parameters for the Hybrid method and 11 model parameters for the Direct method are selected. The MLP-based correction results show that the proposed wall interference correction method achieves results much closer to the free air state and true value of C L c compared to classical methods.

The evaluation of the tunnel correction remains an actual problem, especially for the effect of tunnel walls. Even if the experimental campaign meets the basic similitude criteria (Mach, Reynolds etc.), the wall effect on the measured data is always present. Consequently, the flow correction due the limited by walls must be evaluated. Solid wall corrections refer to the aerodynamic interference between the experimental model and the walls of the wind tunnel. This interaction affects the measured forces and implicitly the angle of attack. Usually, these effects are introduced through semi-empirical correction factors which change the global measured forces. The present paper refers to the mathematical and numerical modeling of aerodynamic interferences between the experimental model and the solid walls based on the potential flow model. The main goal is to asses a method allowing an estimate of the corrections for each configuration with a minimum computational resource.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use a computational technique to simulate the flow in a two-dimensional (2D) wind tunnel where the effect of the solid walls facing the model has been addressed using a porous geometry so that interference arriving at the solid walls are duly damped and a flow suction procedure has been adopted at the side wall to minimize the span-wise effect of the growing side wall boundary layer. Design/methodology/approach A CFD procedure based on discretization of the Navier–Stokes equations has been used to model the flow in a rectangular volume with appropriate treatment for solid walls of the confined volume in which the model is placed. The rectangular volume was configured by stacking O-Grid sections in a span-wise direction using geometric growth from the wall. A porous wall condition has been adapted to counter the wall interference signatures and a separate suction procedure has been implemented for reducing the side wall boundary layer effects. Findings It has been shown that through such corrective measures, the flow in a wind tunnel can be adequately simulated using computational modeling. Computed results were compared against experimental measurements obtained from IAR (Institute for Aerospace, Canada) and NAL (National Aeronautical Laboratory, Japan) to show that indeed appropriate corrective means may be adapted to reduce the interference effects. Research limitations/implications The solutions seemed to converge a lot better using relatively coarser grids which placed the shock locations closer to the experimental values. The finer grids were more stiff to converge and resulted in reversed flow with the two equation k-w model in the region where the intention was to draw out the fluid to thin down the boundary layer. The one equation Spalart–Allmaras model gave better result when porosity and wall suction routines were implemented. Practical implications This method could be used by industry to point check the results against certain demanding flow conditions and then used for more routine parametric studies at other conditions. The method would prove to be efficient and economical during early design stages of a configuration. Originality/value The method makes use of an O-grid to represent the confined test section and its dual treatment of wall interference and blockage effects through simultaneous application of porosity and boundary layer suction is believed to be quite original.

The approach to problems of wall interference in wind tunnel testing is generally based on the so-called classical method, which covers the wall interference experienced by a simple small model or the neo-classical method that contains some improvements as such that it can be applied to larger models. Both methods are analytical techniques offering solutions of the subsonic potential equation of the wall interference flow field. Since an accurate description of wind tunnel test data is only possible if the wall interference phenomena are fully understood, uncounted subsequent efforts have been spent by many researchers to improve the limitation of the classical methods by applying new techniques and advanced methods. However, the problem of wall interference has remained a lasting concern to aerodynamicists and it continues to be a field of active research until the present. The main objective of this paper is to present an improved classical method of the wall interference assessment in rectangular subsonic wind tunnel with solid-walls.

A new blockage-correction method for the separated flows around the airfoil of a wind turbine blade was developed for the wall interference correction of the closed test-section wind tunnel. A wind tunnel test was performed for the airfoil at an angle-of-attack range of 0–180°. The freestream velocity was 15 m/s, which corresponds to a Reynolds number of 2.3 × 10 5 based on the chord. Then a blockage correction for the separated flows was obtained with respect to the multiplication of the blocking area and the separation drag coefficient based on the test. The present method was validated by comparing the corrected results with those of the existing classical and measured-boundary-condition methods. The results of the classical method are similar to those of the measured-boundary-condition method at the attached flow region; however, at high angles of attack, the difference in the corrected results between the classical and MBC methods becomes significantly large. The present method is in good agreement with the measured-boundary-condition method, enabling better wall corrections than the classical method in post-stall region.

• Cotton fibre is the most important source for natural textiles. The secondary cell walls (SCWs) of mature cotton fibres contain the highest proportion of cellulose content (> 90%) in any plant. The onset and progression of SCW cellulose synthesis need to be tightly controlled to balance fibre elongation and cell wall deposition. However, regulatory mechanisms that control cellulose synthesis during cotton fibre growth remain elusive. • Here, we conducted genetic and functional analyses demonstrating that the R2R3-MYB GhMYB7 controls cotton fibre cellulose synthesis. • Overexpression of GhMYB7 in cotton sped up SCW cellulose biosynthesis in fibre cells, and led to shorter fibres with thicker walls. By contrast, RNA interference (RNAi) silencing of GhMYB7 delayed fibre SCW cellulose synthesis and resulted in elongated fibres with thinner walls. Furthermore, we demonstrated that GhMYB7 regulated cotton fibre SCW cellulose synthases by directly binding to three distinct cis-elements in the respective GhCesA4, GhCesA7 and GhCesA8 promoters. We found that this regulatory mechanism of cellulose synthesis was ‘hi-jacked’ also by other GhMYBs. • Together, our findings uncover a hitherto-unknown mechanism that cotton fibre employs to regulate SCW cellulose synthesis. Our results also provide a strategy for genetic improvement of SCW thickness of cotton fibre.