Supersonic Science in 黑料吃瓜's Wind Tunnel Complex
This advanced facility is often used to refine products aerodynamics and test new scientific concepts.
Grant Imahara, co-host of Netflix鈥檚 鈥淢ythbusters鈥� spin-off television show 鈥�,鈥� watches as a team of scientists put a model dragster into what looks like a small room. At the press of a button and flick of a switch on the control center outside, wind loudly floods the room while computers analyze the way the air flaps and folds around the racecar鈥檚 curves. 鈥淵ou hear that?鈥� Imahara shouts over the deafening roar. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the sound of science!鈥�鈥淭he wind tunnel facility at San Diego State has been and will continue to be a vital asset to our aerospace engineering education and research programs.鈥�
黑料吃瓜鈥檚 was built in 1963, a sprawling complex of sheet metal and wood panels that starts at ground level and loops through a basement originally built as a bomb shelter in the engineering building. Despite its age and cobbled-together look, constant technological updating has made it one of the most advanced wind tunnel testing facilities in the Southern California region.
That鈥檚 why Imahara and the 鈥淲hite Rabbit Project鈥� team chose to film part of their episode 鈥淪peed Freaks鈥� at the 黑料吃瓜 facility last year, demonstrating how scientists use wind tunnels to test and refine the aerodynamics of some of the world鈥檚 fastest vehicles. By precisely tweaking a racecar鈥檚 scooped wings and paneling, engineers can keep the wheels optimally pressed to the ground, transferring as much energy from the motor as possible and preventing the car from flying up during a race.
But it's not typically Hollywood television shows that use 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 facility; more often it鈥檚 national and local companies using the wind tunnel to analyze the aerodynamics of everything from airplane wings to golf clubs.
鈥淲e have great relationships and partnerships with industry,鈥� said Gustaaf Jacobs, a professor of aerospace engineering who manages the facility and uses the wind tunnel for his own research.
There are actually two wind tunnels that make up the facility. The enormous low speed tunnel鈥攖he one shown in the episode鈥攈as a top wind speed of 165.93 miles. A force plate in the three-by-four-foot chamber measures how the wind acts on the object. By spraying aerosolized olive oil into the chamber and bouncing a sheet of lasers through the chamber, users can see and analyze minute airflow patterns.
A second, more compact supersonic wind tunnel is down the hall. Its wind speeds can reach more than four times the speed of sound concentrated on a six-square-inch chamber. This tunnel has been used to measure the aerodynamics of bullets and other extremely high-velocity objects.
Aside from industry uses, students and researchers also routinely use the wind tunnel for academic projects, including recent projects examining the aerodynamics of wildfire movement, wind turbines, racecar airfoils and drone rotors and wings. This wide diversity of uses ensures 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 students and scientists, as well as industry partners, will continue to use the facility to test products and make new discoveries well into the future.
鈥淭he wind tunnel facility at San Diego State has been and will continue to be a vital asset to our aerospace engineering education and research programs,鈥� said Ping Lu, chair of the aerospace engineering department. 鈥淎t the same time, we welcome local industry to come to take advantage of this unique facility when their business calls for it.鈥�
