Background and theoretical considerations for utilizing water tunnel flow visualization

The water tunnel Is a valuable tool for education, basic research and aerodynamic design. This work addresses the topic of water tunnel flow visualization as a design tool.

The foremost advantage of the water tunnel Is the ease with which the flow field can be made visible. Testing Is quick and Inexpensive. The water tunnel also has some Inherent difficulties, which can be grouped into the categories of Intrusion, Streakline Interpretation and Dynamic Similarity. These three topics were Investigated with the Intention of educating potential water tunnel users about Its associated problems so that future Investigations can proceed In an Intelligent and realistic manner.