ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the design of wind tunnels to be used for simulation of forced air cooling of electronic components and assemblies at the device, board, and system levels, as well as for related fundamental research. It pays attention to flow quality requirements and instrumentation needs. The chapter includes the guidelines for use in detailed design or selection of tunnel parts, but also as an aid in evaluation of a commercial tunnel. It describes assembly and installation, the wind tunnel performance—that is, the flow capacity and quality actually achieved — should be evaluated and monitored. Flow speeds for forced air cooling simulations can be so low as to be quite difficult to measure with common instrumentation: in aeronautical wind tunnels, the dynamic pressure within the test section is generally measured directly, from which flow speed can be calculated.
