A powerful new wind tunnel at the Politecnico di Milano university in Milan, Italy, enabled Italian firm Aldena to acquire key data on the performance of its antenna systems.
The two-phased project, headed by Professor Marco Belan of the aerospace engineering department at the polytechnic, focused on a representative selection of 10 Aldena antennas.
Following a preparatory theoretical phase, involving the study of drag coefficients and worst wind attack angles, Aldena Engineer Maximilian Arpaio took the antennas to Milan for the wind tunnel tests last September.
The testing took place in the 100 kW closed-loop wind tunnel, where the antennas were subject to angles of attack ranging from 0° to 90° and to wind speeds of up to 45 meters per second (162 kilometers per hour).
The wind tunnel tests made it possible for project team members to evaluate the theoretical findings and also acquire new performance data.
With Aldena installations world-wide regularly facing extreme conditions like the frozen winds of Siberia and monsoons in Asia, the company is now using the findings to enhance the performance of its antenna technology.
