Announcements
.2023/08/15 Our wind tunnel (50x50cm, 1.5m long) was completed in 2007 with
a research project budget from Hisashi Nemoto of Saitama Prefecture Expt
Station. It has contributed to several projects, and recently, Dr. Miyamoto
(now at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology) conducted an
experiment on the theme of "The Role of Visual Stimuli in the Orientation
Behavior of the smaller tea tortrix" which produced good results.
The main features of the system are that the air in the tunnel is purified
by an activated charcoal filter before flowing through it, and the air
speed can be controlled from 10 to 50 cm/sec. Even under low-humidity conditions
in winter, experiments can be conducted in mid-winter because the room
is equipped with a large humidifier. As for the stability of the airflow,
we have made several efforts to create a laminar airflow. So, if you are
interested or planning to build a wind tunnel system, please come and see
it. We have to create airflow using the air conditioner of that room or
facility, so we have to consider the flow path on a case-by-case basis.
Before our wind tunnel was built, we did not have an activated carbon filter
and used a ventilation fan to exhaust the air outside, and we also used
a ventilation fan to exhaust the air from the mouse breeding room next
door. The exhaust from the adjoining mouse room was also exhausted by a
fan. Since the exhaust was in a relatively busy part of the campus, odor
became a problem, and we were instructed by the university not to use the
ventilating fan. Our ventilation fan was also closed in the aftermath.
When we had no choice but to build a new wind tunnel, we attached the wind
tunnel outlet to the exhaust port of the air conditioner, so that the air
flow could be controlled by a valve. This system was just right for our
desired wind speed and we have been using it for a long time. I have a
few more know-hows that I would be happy to discuss with you. By the way,
the most expensive wind tunnel I have ever seen (for insect experiments
only, of course) is the one owned by the Chemical Ecology Group of the
Max Planck Institute in Germany. As I recall, it was described as being
capable of conducting experiments at wind speeds of 1 m/sec even in the
middle of winter.