Ford Mobile Wind Tunnel

One of the lesser-known processes associated with the automotive industry is the process of wind tunnel testing. Once the domain of aircraft manufacturers, today wind tunnel testing plays a crucial role in the testing of aerodynamic car design. Exterior aerodynamics is not the only area that necessitates the use of wind tunnels. Wind-generated cabin noise is one of the key differentiators to a comfortable driver and passenger experience. Design, production and assembly errors can contribute significantly to cabin noise and wind tunnel testing becomes essential. The downside is that wind tunnel testing is not an economical process. The design, construction, and operation of a wind tunnel can cost over $50 million—a price that includes real estate, construction, power, instruments, and monitoring infrastructure. Today, the Ford Motor Company seeks to achieve effective wind tunnel testing for a fraction of the cost.

Ford’s Economical Wind Tunnel

While design testing still requires the construction of full-fledged wind tunnels, Ford’s innovative new aeroacoustic wind tunnel uses two shipping containers, mounted fans and twin 16-blade ducted fans that are 6-feet in diameter to simulate driving conditions on the highway at about 130 km/h. The fans are powered by a 250-horsepower motor and can be moved from one production plant to another within the span of a day to enable the in-cabin testing of older production models. Flow-controlling baffles prevent extreme noise levels and create a space that can be used for cabin noise testing. The portable wind tunnel, with its data and power supply components, is completely mobile and can be set up or dismantled in under six hours. One of the key benefits of Ford’s system is its low cost. The tunnel, currently deployed at Ford’s Flat Rock assembly plant in Michigan, will not be used for aerodynamic testing but is expected to test cabin noise at various facilities around the country to address production issues on-site. The new wind tunnel is the world’s first portable wind tunnel that can be sustainably deployed to support new models at production facilities anywhere and can be replicated for use around the world.