Design, construction, and validation of a new boundary layer rake for full-scale testing

A new suitable boundary layer rake design is presented to conduct measurements during full-scale testing of vehicles. The new rake is adjustable and can be installed in three different configurations. The angle between the tubes’ support and the rake pedestal can be changed to capture the velocity profile on different vehicle locations with different boundary layer thicknesses. The rake is equipped with total pressure, static pressure, and Preston tubes. With the aid of numerical simulations, the rake support dimension and tube lengths are dimensioned. The results of finite-element stress analysis on the rake structure are presented as well. A series of wind tunnel experiments has been performed to validate the new rake. In these tests, the rake was successfully validated at different installation angles and cross-wind situations.

► A new boundary layer rake equipped with total pressure, static pressure, and Preston tubes is designed.
► The rake is suitable to conduct measurements during full-scale testing of vehicles.
► The new rake is adjustable and can be installed in three different configurations.
► Computational fluid dynamics and structural finite-element analysis are used to design the rake.
► A series of wind tunnel experiments has been performed to validate the rake.