Design specification, commission and calibration of the University of Strathclyde's Fully Turbulent Flow Channel (FTFC) facility

Measurements in the Fully Turbulent Flow Channel (FTFC) are presented for Reynolds number up to 3.3∙10^5, based on the mean bulk velocity and the channel height. The FTFC is a new experimental facility recently installed at the Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering of the University of Strathclyde. It is a high aspect ratio flow channel with a three-meter-long testing section, designed for the indirect measurement of the drag caused by surface characteristics. The main advantage of this channel is that the measurements of the pressure drop along the test section can be combined with laser-based boundary layer measurement techniques such as LDA, PIV, etc.
The present work focuses on the design features and the calibration of the new experimental facility, with hydraulically smooth control panels produced on purpose. The interest in these data originates from the fact that channel flow serves as a reference flow for varying special surface structures, such as fouling control coatings, as well as some drag reduction mechanisms such as riblets, dimples, tubercles, in the presence of some biofouling types.