Department of Fluid Mechanics

Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

Introduction

Our laboratory - that is part of  the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE) Department of Fluid Mechanics - is named after the famous Hungarian aerodynamics expert Tódor Kármán. We take part in multiple national and international research projects with our six wind tunnels. In the wind tunnels controlled airflows can be sustained to model engineering and natural processes alike. We can determine concentrations, pressure distributions, forces, and torques.

 

Wind tunnels

There are 4 different types of wind tunnels in our laboratory.

Large horizontal wind tunnel

The wind tunnel was built between 1934-38 based on the plans of DVL (Deutsche Versuchsanstalt für Luftfahrt). It is a Göttingen-type wind tunnel with an open measuring section. The measuring section is circular with a diameter of 2.6 m. The maximum wind speed is 55 m/s.

It is suitable to investigate atmospheric flows, flow around buildings or pollutant dispersion. In the measuring section there is a rotating table that enables us to adjust the wind direction.

The large horizontal wind tunnel

Boundary layer wind tunnel

The wind tunnel was built around 1970 by ÉMI, and it is suitable for modeling the atmospheric boundary layer. A rotating table with a diameter of 1.8 m in the measuring section enables wind direction adjustment.

NPL type wind tunnel

The NPL (National Physical Laboratory) type wind tunnel has a measuring space of 0.5 x 0.5 m. It is mostly utilized for scientific research. The maximum wind speed is 15 m/s.

NPL type wind tunnel

Vertical wind tunnel

It was built together with the large horizontal wind tunnel, and it is also a Göttingen-type wind tunnel. The maximum wind speed is 125 km/h.

Vertical wind tunnel

Other wind tunnels

We have two smaller "blackbird" wind tunnels designed by the students and coworkers of the Department between 2011-2014. These are modular wind tunnels that can be used with a variety of measuring sections.

Blackbird wind tunnel