North American Windpower: Wind Tunnel For Anemometer Calibration Opens In Vermont

by NAW Staff on Thursday 17 January 2013

SOH Wind Engineering has completed the construction of a massive wind tunnel that will be used to calibrate anemometers and test wind actions (or forces) on large structures.

In response to a request issued by NRG Systems, a manufacturer of measurement equipment for the renewable energy industry, Svend Ole Hansen, principal of SOH Wind Engineering, decided to launch a new business in the U.S.

The wind tunnel, which will be built in Vermont, will be used for a wide range of applications in civil engineering, transportation and wind energy, including the calibration of NRG Systems' #40C and Class 1 anemometers.

At full build-out, the facility will operate four closed, return-flow wind tunnels, one of which is currently operating. Each wind tunnel is three meters squared and 40 meters long, and is capable of producing wind velocities of up to 20 meters per second (m/s). Reducing the wind tunnel cross-sections may increase the velocity to 100 m/s. The wind tunnel has received ISO certification and will carry out IEC-approved calibrations for anemometry per IEC 61400-12-1 Annex F, which is identical to the MEASNET standard.

Launching the business was a two-year initiative that integrated private investment with public dollars. Based on the capital investment and employment projections, SOH secured a grant under The Vermont Economic Growth Initiative for roughly $150,000. The wind tunnel will also be an educational resource for University of Vermont professors and students in its engineering school.

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