TU Delft opens globally unique wind tunnel

The wind is never constant and varies constantly, both in terms of space and time. In addition, wind turbines are getting bigger and bigger and the wind speed is never the same on every part of the rotor - the rotating part of a wind turbine. That is why it is important to carry out experiments using non-uniform wind fields: fields in which the wind speed is not the same everywhere. With the opening of TU Delft's Wind AI Lab - a globally unique wind tunnel - this will become possible. Wind tunnels are large tubes through which air blows. They are often used to simulate the interaction between air and a scale model of an object. However, a "normal" wind tunnel only partly shows how air reacts to wind turbines, explains Jan-Willem van Wingerden who is carrying out research at TU Delft in order to find the optimum design for a wind farm and maximise the amount of energy it produces.