LaVision engineers carried out a very special test in the fantastic Catesby-Tunnel: The longest and most repeatable indoor test facility in the world.
Once a railway tunnel, it has been converted into a vehicle test facility providing incredible repeatability and accuracy. The tunnel was closed to trains in the 1960s which is the same time when the Jaguar E-type was created.
The LaVision team set up a PIV Ring-of-Fire system comprising Photron high-speed cameras, a Litron LDY laser, and filled the test section area with helium-filled soap bubbles (HFSB).
Then Philip Porter, owner of 9600HP - the oldest and only surviving Jaguar E-type prototype, drove this unique vehicle along the tunnel and through the cloud of bubbles illuminated by the laser light sheet. Images were collected at several kHz and processed using DaVis FlowMaster software to form a time-history of the wake created by the stunning shape of the E-type. This was a really great team effort. Many thanks go to the E-Type club for providing the contact, and to Philip Porter for providing the fabulous car!
With further processing, the time history can be converted into a spatial representation of the flow field to enable a 3D visualization of the wake and turbulent structures. Watch this space for further information on this unique measurement campaign!