Flow Facilities

Two large-scale water channels, specially designed for three-dimensional illumination and image acquisition, are employed for experiments involving steady inflow. A variety of test sections can be placed within the channels, in order to simulate interaction of turbulent and vortical flow fields with bodies, including cylinders, spheres, delta wings, and streamlined leading-edges. In addition, fully-developed turbulent boundary layers on flat plates and turbulent flows within channels are attainable through inserts into the main test section of the water channels. A shallow water tank, constructed of high quality optical glass, allows examination of vortex flows that have a characteristic scale much larger than the depth of the water. This type of apparatus provides new insight into the relationship between instantaneous wall shear stress and vortical flow patterns above the wall.