SESSION 2 - Development of the UOIT Climatic Wind Tunnel

Dr. Gary Elfstrom, Director, Business Development, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada

SESSION 2 - University of Ontario Institute of Technology

---

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) climatic wind tunnel (CWT) is described from its genesis, through design, construction and initial operation. The primary need of the CWT was to provide an independent, full test capability, for car and truck thermal operation testing in support of the automotive industry in Canada. Design and cost tradeoffs were conducted to maximize the test fidelity within the anticipated user vehicle spectrum. A key requirement was to provide advanced aerodynamic aspects of vehicle thermodynamic testing. Unique features thus include a 7-14.5m2 variable nozzle concept to enable a wide range of vehicle sizes and wind speed combinations, and a turntable with chassis dynamometer to enable vehicle tests at yaw. Construction is complete, and start-up and integrated testing underway, with commissioning expected to be complete in by late 2010.

Return to program

 

Dr. Gary Elfstrom, Director, Business Development, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada

Gary Elfstrom – Director, Business Development for the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE) at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. A member of the ACE management team, he has the responsibility of attracting clients from the automotive and other industries where aero-thermodynamic testing is necessary under severe climatic conditions. His career started as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tennessee Space Institute, specializing in transonic experiments, which was followed by stint as a senior research officer at the high speed wind tunnel laboratory of the National Research Council (NRC) in Ottawa, Canada. The majority of his career was spent in test facility design & build at DSMA and Aiolos Engineering Corp, where he has enjoyed a variety of design, project management and promotional assignments covering high speed and low speed wind tunnels, reverberant acoustic chambers and climatic chambers, world-wide. He has served on various technically-oriented committees, such as the AIAA-GTTC, the NSERC fluids grant selection committee, and the IAR advisory board for the NRC.

 

Return to listing