A small team with a big vision
Team Ánemos
Team Ánemos is a Senior Design Capstone team of eight students building a Wind Tunnel for the 21st Century for Rice University: a high-quality, lasting piece of equipment that will meaningfully benefit students and faculty across the university for years to come.
New Rice Wind Tunnel,
New Possibilities.
Explore some of the key technical features of the New Rice Wind Tunnel—and how these innovative design choices will enable new possibilities in research and engineering design.
Versatile 48′ x 48″ Test Section
The test section is 8 ft. long and features a large 48 x 48 in. cross section, along with a replaceable plywood floor for fully customizable mounting support. Acrylic walls will allow for a full visual of the testing environment.
Advanced Flow Straightening
The New Rice Wind Tunnel will feature a high-aspect-ratio honeycomb flow straightener and two turbulence-reducing metal screens to achieve near-laminar flow, serving the high-accuracy data needs of engineering design and research.
Integrated Data Collection
Wind speed, force moment, and all other selected testing data will be concurrently recorded according to user specification, time-synced, and uploaded to an online portal for streamlined digital access.
A Harbinger of
Innovation and Invention
Ushering in a new era of Rice Engineering
Discover below how the New Rice Wind Tunnel Impacts
Design Teams
Versatile test section to support a variety of testing needs.
Research
Laminar flow profile enabling precise data-collection.
Curricular Labs
Intuitive controls and clear visual of the test environment.
Leaving a Legacy
Supporting the Next Generation of Engineers
Team Ánemos is building a wind tunnel that won’t just foster innovation today, but for decades to come. From Rice Wind Energy to Rice Eclipse, explore how the New Rice Wind Tunnel will enable Rice’s award-winning undergraduate design teams to reach even greater heights.
Top 10 | Collegiate Wind competition 2024
Rice Wind Energy
“Having a larger wind tunnel would be invaluable to Rice Wind Energy. The key to succeeding reliably at the competition is bringing a heavily tested turbine, yet this has been difficult for us given the small size of Rice’s wind tunnel…If we had a large tunnel at Rice, the team would be able to produce a better turbine and attend competition knowing that our turbine will perform reliably.”
– Esther Fahel, 2024–2025 Rice Wind Energy President
30k Hybrid Champions | Spaceport America Cup 2024
Rice Eclipse
“Having a new wind tunnel would provide critical testing opportunities for Rice Eclipse…parachute testing is not possible with the current wind tunnel due to turbulent flow. It would also allow our team to do aerodynamics testing on our airframe. Currently…the most important aerodynamics testing is not possible. Conducting these tests would provide critical insights on drag separation testing, coefficient of drag calculations, and fin flutter testing.”
– Daniel Ramirez, 2024–2025 Rice Eclipse President
AIAA Design, Build, Fly | SAE Aero
Rice Flight
“Rice Flight would certainly use a new wind tunnel…for propeller testing each year… to determine the motor and propeller combination that would provide optimum performance…the current wind tunnel does not allow us to achieve these objectives because its cross section is so small. The wind tunnel would… improve our chances of success in the SAE competition…and make it easier to get the funding necessary to grow the team.”
– Nancy Lindsey, 2024–2025 Rice Flight President
Team Ánemos would further like to share statements written by Professor Laura Schaefer, Ph.D., Burton J. and Ann M. McMurtry Chair in Engineering and Professor in Rice University’s Mechanical Engineering Department as well as Professor Jose Moreto, Ph.D., Assistant Teaching Professor in Rice University’s Electrical and Computer Engineering department in support of the New Rice Wind Tunnel.
Help Make the New Rice Wind Tunnel A Reality
Please consider supporting Team Ánemos to enable new possibilities at Rice University for decades to come. Team Ánemos through Rice is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, making any donation tax-deductible.
Sponsors and Partners
