Friday, August 6, 2010
General Motors' wind tunnel turns 30, more important than ever
Filed under: Etc., MPG, GM
2011 Chevrolet Cruze in the GM wind tunnel - Click above for high-res image gallery
Thirty years ago this week, General Motors opened its first full-scale wind-tunnel at its Warren, MI, technical center. Today, the facility is more important than ever. As automakers strive to hit new fuel economy mandates as well as develop electric vehicles, aerodynamics engineers at GM are working around the clock in the tunnel to best manage the air-flow around and through vehicle. We had the opportunity to take a tour of the facility this week and talk with some of the engineers.
GM engineers did a wind tunnel evaluation on the Firebird I concept vehicle back in 1953. That fighter jet-shaped single-seater was put into the aircraft tunnel at Cal Tech University. Over the next 27 years, GM used a variety of tunnels, including the NASA Ames research center, to test its vehicles. In the late 1970s as fuel economy became more important, GM decided it needed its own tunnel. Construction began in the southwest corner of the tech center campus in 1978 with operations beginning in August 1980. Senior project engineer Frank Meinert took us on a tour of what is officially known as the aerodynamics lab and you can learn all about it after the jump.
Photos Copyright (C)2010 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze in the GM wind tunnel - Click above for high-res image gallery
Thirty years ago this week, General Motors opened its first full-scale wind-tunnel at its Warren, MI, technical center. Today, the facility is more important than ever. As automakers strive to hit new fuel economy mandates as well as develop electric vehicles, aerodynamics engineers at GM are working around the clock in the tunnel to best manage the air-flow around and through vehicle. We had the opportunity to take a tour of the facility this week and talk with some of the engineers.
GM engineers did a wind tunnel evaluation on the Firebird I concept vehicle back in 1953. That fighter jet-shaped single-seater was put into the aircraft tunnel at Cal Tech University. Over the next 27 years, GM used a variety of tunnels, including the NASA Ames research center, to test its vehicles. In the late 1970s as fuel economy became more important, GM decided it needed its own tunnel. Construction began in the southwest corner of the tech center campus in 1978 with operations beginning in August 1980. Senior project engineer Frank Meinert took us on a tour of what is officially known as the aerodynamics lab and you can learn all about it after the jump.
Gallery: General Motors wind tunnel
Photos Copyright (C)2010 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.
Continue reading General Motors' wind tunnel turns 30, more important than ever
General Motors' wind tunnel turns 30, more important than ever originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>
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