Generation of vertical gusts in a transonic wind tunnel

This article reports on the qualification of a gust generator device in a transonic wind tunnel. A vanning apparatus has been installed in the contraction of the S3Ch transonic wind tunnel at the ONERA Meudon center in order to generate up and down air movements in the test section. The apparatus has been tested in a range of Strouhal number based on frequency and vane chord up to 0.15 and in a range of Mach number between 0.3 and 0.73. The amplitude of the gusts has been characterized by a fast-response two-hole pressure probe and phase-averaged PIV. The system delivers vertical velocity amplitude of 0.5 % of the freestream velocity at transonic speeds. For a constant vane oscillation angle, the gust strength is found to increase with the Strouhal and the Mach numbers. The gust exhibit a satisfying uniformity and a quasi-sinusoidal waveform. A simple dynamic point vortex model of the oscillating vanes and of the downstream wake has been developed in order to (1) compare the experimental results and (2) enrich the description of the flow induced by the gusts. In particular, the model is used to analyze the detrimental effect of the upper and lower walls. This simple unsteady model gives a valuable prediction of the amplitude of the gust obtained in the tunnel and the workable frequency range permitted by the present apparatus.