Wind tunnel tests often require deformation and displacement measures to determine the behavior of structures to evaluate their response to wind excitation. However, common measurement techniques make it possible to measure these quantities only at a few specific points. Moreover, these kinds of measurements, such as Linear Variable Differential Transformer LVDTs or fiber optics, usually influence the downstream and upstream air fluxes and the structure under test. In order to characterize the displacement of the structure not just at a few points, but for the entire structure, in this article, the application of 3D cameras during a wind tunnel test is presented. In order to validate this measurement technique in this application field, a wind tunnel test was executed. Three Kinect V2 depth sensors were used for a 3D displacement measurement of a test structure that did not present any optical marker or feature. The results highlighted that by using a low-cost and user-friendly measurement system, it is possible to obtain 3D measurements in a volume of several cubic meters (4 m × 4 m × 4 m wind tunnel chamber), without significant disturbance of wind flux and by means of a simple calibration of sensors, executed directly inside the wind tunnel. The obtained results highlighted a displacement directed to the internal part of the structure for the side most exposed to wind, while the sides, parallel to the wind flux, were more subjected to vibrations and with an outwards average displacement. These results are compliant with the expected behavior of the structure.
Keywords: 3D measurements; 3D reconstruction; Kinect V2; point cloud registration; wind tunnel.