The $124 million wind tunnel at Honda Automotive Laboratories of Ohio (HALO) allows the company to evaluate aerodynamics and aeroacoustics. The location will be used by the corporation to develop future production vehicles and race cars, as well as by third parties who want to test their own goods.
Depending on what the company is developing, the HALO wind tunnel includes two rolling roadways. A five-belt unit is used to test vehicles with a greater ride height, such as crossovers. For machinery that is closer to the ground, such as performance products or race vehicles, a single, wide belt is used. These cars are carried on belts that are only 0.8 millimeters thick.
A fan with an 8-meter diameter is at the center of the wind tunnel. There are 12 hollow carbon-fiber blades, each with a 4-millimeter clearance from the outer surround. Honda engineers informed Motor1.com that the clearance was slightly off when the fan was first fitted, and the blades were scratching against the wall. To make them fit, the business had to remove a small amount of material from the surround.
The fan can spin at a maximum of 250 revolutions per minute. This may not appear to be much, yet it is enough to propel air at speeds of up to 310 kilometers per hour. It's powered by a 6,705 horsepower electric motor.
Honda needs to manage as many variables as possible during aerodynamic testing. This includes removing the brake pads and driveshafts from automobiles. There's also a big heat-exchanger wall, which acts as a massive radiator. In about 30 minutes, a glycol combination can raise the temperature of the air from 50 degrees Fahrenheit to 10 to 50 degrees Celsius.
Sensors embedded in the floor may detect changes as tiny as half a pound. There is also a diagnostic arm with stopping precision accuracy of 0.5 millimeters. It can be used by engineers to assess things like wake vortices coming off the back of a vehicle.
The wind tunnel may also perform aeroacoustic testing to improve vehicle wind noise. It takes less than an hour to transition from aerodynamic development to aeroacoustics. The significant changes are the installation of 502 microphones on each side of the vehicle and above it. The model is supported by a sound-absorbing aluminum honeycomb plate.
Honda installs 54 internal microphones inside the vehicle. There are also Aachenheads, which resemble mannequin heads and include microphones in the ear canals that mimic human hearing.
It goes to reason that while analyzing wind noise, you'll require a peaceful environment. The wind tunnel test chamber produces only 57 dB of sound at 140 kph speeds. To put this in context, the average office operates at about 60 dB.
This is Honda's first wind tunnel capable of testing full-scale automobiles in the United States, located on a former soybean field at Honda's Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, Ohio. Previously, the organization had to hire time at other sites across the country in order to complete this task. This website will not be dedicated solely to Honda car development. For customers renting time in the wind tunnel, there are four lockable garages with a lift, workspace, bathroom, and small kitchenette.