One problem with testing cars in wind tunnels is that that the stationary floor affects the air flow. To solve that problem Haas Automation (Haas Racing) and Jacobs Engineering are building a wind tunnel with a treadmill floor. The pictures show the treadmill portion, but it doesn’t appear to be located in the the wind tunnel yet. I would imagine this whole assembly will be recessed into the floor of the completed wind tunnel.
From the Haas CNC Magazine (PDF pg 44):
The distinctive “rolling road” is actually a 1-millimeter-thick continuous steel belt about 11 feet wide and nearly 30 feet long. A revolutionary “thru-the-belt” sensing system will measure the aerodynamic downforce under each tire, providing handling data with greater accuracy than ever before. At the tunnel’s top speed, the 22-foot diameter main fan will re-circulate 2.85 million cubic feet of air per minute, consuming 7 megawatts of power in the process.
The $40 million wind tunnel is under construction in Concord, NC. Langley Air Force Base has a good description of their similarly sized wind tunnel.
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