Honda will build wind tunnel for auto tests
Honda plans to spend $124 million on a wind-tunnel complex in East Liberty that is capable of testing full-size vehicles.
The project, announced on Thursday, will take place at the Transportation Research Center, a large vehicle-testing lab that is a short drive from several Honda plants and offices.
“It will be integral to our aerodynamic and aeroacoustic R&D activity, which spans from advanced research and computer simulation, through scale-model and full-vehicle development, to production-vehicle
performance assurance,” said Frank Paluch, president of Honda R&D Americas in Raymond, Ohio, in a statement.
“And all of this is being done right here in the U.S.”
The tunnel will be available on a contract basis to businesses and researchers.
A ceremonial groundbreaking will take place this summer. Honda had no specifics on how many jobs would be created.
To understand the significance of the plan, it helps to know what Honda uses today for this kind of testing. The automaker has a small wind tunnel at Honda R&D Americas in Raymond, near East Liberty, which does tests on scale models of vehicles.
The new tunnel will be able to handle scale models and full-size vehicles, and it will have several bays that can be used at the same time. These are features that are available in only a few locations; none are in Ohio.
Scale-model testing can be useful, particularly early in the development of a vehicle. But engineers want to be able to test full-size models later in the process, said Shawn Midlam-Mohler, a faculty member at the Center for Automotive Research at Ohio State University.
The tunnel, with wind speeds that can exceed 190 mph, can be used to test for whistling and other noises that might occur when air flows over a vehicle. Also, it will perform basic windtunnel functions, with sensors that show wind resistance, providing data that engineers can use to reduce drag.
By cutting down on drag, automakers can improve fuel economy.
“Any kid who’s ever stuck his hand out the window while in the car knows that you’ve got aerodynamic drag,” Midlam-Mohler said. “That drag is the key power loss for a powertrain. A wind tunnel allows you to take detailed measurements all over the car and see, if we make a change to the grille or the mirrors, what that does to the drag coefficient.”
The Transportation Research Center is a testing complex that covers about 4,500 acres of outdoor tracks and indoor labs. Its land is owned by Honda, but the center is controlled by a board with connections to Ohio State. Businesses, researchers and others pay to use the center.