Design - Fabled thingy

Research manager David Le Pelley describes the University of Auckland's oft-cited but little-known Twisted Flow Wind Tunnel

The Yacht Research Unit at the University of Auckland is involved with many aspects of the development of racing yachts, a large proportion of which are centred around the use of its Twisted Flow Wind Tunnel. The original TFWT was built in 1993 by Team New Zealand, North Sails NZ and the University of Auckland in an effort to improve the understanding of the flow over downwind sails. The development of an efficient method of testing sails in a twisted flow gave Team New Zealand a significant speed advantage in the 1995 America's Cup. Since then the original wind tunnel has been replaced by a larger version owned wholly by the University of Auckland. With a working section of 7x3.5m and two 3m-diameter 45kW fans, the wind tunnel is now large enough that detailed changes in sails and rigs can be examined with a large scale model. But why twist the flow, and is it really necessary?

To read the remainder of this article please go to the December 2002 edition of Seahorse, available at selected newsstands or by calling: + 44 (0) 1590 671899 or by email at: info@seahorse.co.uk

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Research manager David Le Pelley describes the University of Auckland's oft-cited but little-known Twisted Flow Wind Tunnel