Though it might not help you design the next Mach 2 fighter jet, the WTM-1000 benchtop wind tunnel from Omega, Stamford, Conn. (omega.com), will let companies calibrate vane and hot-wire anemometers. Weather labs, engineers building climate controls, technicians monitoring pollution, and VAC engineers balancing air ducts rely on anemometers to measure wind speed or airflow.
The tunnel has a 4-in.-diameter air chamber and can generate wind velocities of 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 m/sec with an accuracy of ±1%. Each setting is calibrated against a NIST-traceable reference standard. A remote option lets users control air velocity from a PC. A dc fan at the wide end of an anodized-aluminum cone draws air in through a turbulence-reducing honeycomb baffle. Clamps and sleeves ensure the vane housing or hot-wire anemometer probe remains in place. And the user manual gives instructions for compensating for barometric pressure and temperature variations. Price is just under $3,000.
