The wind tunnel inside the university’s new Automotive Research Centre will be able to accommodate a number of large vehicles which will allow students and researchers the opportunity to test new innovations, all under one roof. It will be capable of creating wind speeds that exceed 240km/h.

By Katie Strachan
The Oshawa Express

In an instant the temperature inside the soon-to-be wind tunnel at Oshawa’s university can change from minus 40 degrees Celsius to 60 degrees Celsius.
Capable of simulating a dry desert-like climate or the feeling of being inside an artic blizzard, the tunnel, once complete, will allow students to test and create the next generation of automobiles, says Dr. George Bereznai, dean of faculty of engineering and applied sciences.

“When completed later this year, industry leaders, researchers and students will collaborate to create, test, and validate some of the most innovative products in the world, including the next generation of clean and green vehicles and energy systems,” he says.
The wind tunnel will be housed in the University of Ontario Institute of Technology’s (UOIT) first research, development and innovation centre – the Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE).
The ACE is the first of its kind in the world, says UOIT in a release.
The centre will be a mulit-level facility with about 13,585 square metres of space that will house two distinct sections, a core research facility and an integrated research and training facility.
“The potential of ACE is limitless,” says Dr. Bereznai.
It will offer a full range of testing facilities all under one roof, including the wind tunnel, which will be one of the largest and most sophisticated climatic wind tunnels on the planet, the release states.
The wind tunnel will be able to accommodate wind speeds in excess of 240 km/h and be able to create humidity levels from five to 95 per cent.
In addition, it will have a large rotating chassis dynamometer, which will allow researchers to test road loads. It will also be capable of producing a solar array to replicate the effects of the sun.

“It is large enough to accommodate cars, trucks and buses, but it also has the capacity to accommodate locomotives, aircraft components and alternative energy technology such as wind turbines, says the dean.
“Furthermore, ACE has the potential to be used to train military personnel, rescue crews and competitive athletes; to carry out performance testing of outdoor survival gear; to assist the movie industry; and test products that are subject to severe wind, humidity, snow, ice or desert heat.”
But the benefits of the facility go far beyond the students enrolled at the university, he adds.
“ACE will not only generate paradigm-shifting research, it will prepare the students of today for the jobs of tomorrow.”
The centre will operate as an independent test facility, which will be available to manufacturers of all descriptions, start-up companies and researchers around the world, says the release.
The ACE should be completed by the end of 2010. The total cost, when all aspects of the facility are taken into account, should be more than $123 million, the release outlines.
It is being developed in partnership with UOIT, General motors of Canada Ltd., the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) and both the provincial and federal governments.