The new National Wind Tunnel at DTU Risø Campus will be inaugurated on Tuesday April 10 2018. His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark will cut the ribbon.
The new National Wind Tunnel at DTU Risø Campus will be one of a kind. The possibility to combine measurements of large scale aerodynamics and noise makes the tunnel unique. Thus, it is a big day – not only for DTU Wind Energy but for Denmark, when His Royal Highness Prince Joachim of Denmark cuts the ribbon and officially inaugurates the wind tunnel.
“The wind tunnel is a state-of-the-art and one-of-a-kind facility. The fact, that it will be possible to expose a big part of the turbine blade to wind speeds of up to 105 meters per second and also measure noise makes the wind tunnel unique. The wind speed corresponds to three times a category 1 hurricane,” says Christian Bak, who is the project leader at DTU Wind Energy.
The category 5 hurricane Katrina, that struck New Orleans back in 2005, had wind speeds of about 78 meters per second. And even though New Orleans experienced a great deal of damage, the wind speed was not even close to the wind speed that can be reached in the Poul la Cour Tunnel, which is the name of the wind tunnel.
Important for Denmark
The wind tunnel, which has cost 85 million Danish kroner, has been on its way for several years. Søren Pind, Minister of Higher Education and Science is happy that it is finally time to inaugurate the wind tunnel:
“Danish researchers have a greater need for access to high-tech facilities and data if Danish research is to remain at a high international level. Therefore, it is extremely important that we invest in research infrastructure and the wind tunnel provides brand new opportunities for both researchers and companies.”