Elementary characterization of smoke tunnel using flow over a circular cylinder

The utilization of the smoke tunnel for flow visualization of aerodynamics studies needs calibration of the tunnel. This paper aims to describe the characterization of the smoke tunnel using the smoke injection technique. The main phenomenon considered is the wake behaviour occurring at the downstream side of the cylinder. The experiment is conducted by injecting the smoke perpendicular to a circular cylinder placed in the tunnel. The visualized smoke flow lines resemble the streamline patterns which will reveal the wake behaviour. The procedure of smoke based visualization was carried out for various Reynolds numbers and the corresponding physics is described with the limitations of the tunnel.