Studies using wind tunnel to simulate the Atmospheric Boundary Layer at the Alcântara Space Center
doi:10.5028/jatm.2009.01019198

Luciana P. Bassi Marinho*
Institute of Aeronautics and Space
São José dos Campos - Brazil
lubassimp@gmail.com

Ana Cristina Avelar
Institute of Aeronautics and Space
São José dos Campos - Brazil
anacristina@iae.cta.br

Gilberto Fisch
Institute of Aeronautics and Space
São José dos Campos - Brazil
gfisch@iae.cta.br

Suelen T. Roballo
National Institute for Space Research
São José dos Campos - Brazil
suelen.roballo@cptec.inpe.br

Leandro Franco Souza
University of Sao Paulo
São Paulo - Brazil
lefraso@icmc.usp.br

Ralf Gielow
National Institute for Space Research
São José dos Campos - Brazil
ralf.gielow@cptec.inpe.br

Roberto da Mota Girardi
Technological Institute of Aeronautics
São José dos Campos - Brazil
girardi@ita.br

*author for correspondence

Abstract:

The Alcântara Space Center (ASC) region has a peculiar topography due to the existence of a coastal cliff, which modifies the atmospheric boundary layer characteristic in a way that can affect rocket launching operations. Wind tunnel measurements can be an important tool for the understanding of turbulence and wind flow pattern characteristics in the ASC neighborhood, along with computational fluid dynamics and observational data. The purpose of this paper is to describe wind tunnel experiments that have been carried out by researchers from the Brazilian Institutions IAE, ITA and INPE. The technologies of Hot-Wire Anemometer and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) have been used in these measurements, in order to obtain information about wind flow patterns as velocity fields and vorticity. The wind tunnel measurements are described and the results obtained are presented.

Keywords:

Alcântara Space Center (ASC), Particle image velocimetry, Turbulence, Wind flow, Wind tunnel.