
Harris Hydraulics Laboratory at University of Washington
Facility Overview
The Harris Hydraulics Laboratory at the University of Washington is a fully equipped laboratory for teaching, research and testing in marine energy, environmental fluid mechanics, and related topics. The laboratory is used by researchers from departments across campus, including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Applied Physics Laboratory, Mechanical Engineering and Oceanography.
Please contact Dr. Brian Polagye (bpolagye@uw.edu) for more information on Harris Hydraulics Laboratory capabilities.




Facility Capabilities
Alice C. Tyler Flume – The Alice C. Tyler flume is a free-surface water channel with independent control of flow speed (up to 1.1 m/s), water depth, and water temperature (10 – 35 oC). This allows the Reynolds and Froude numbers to be independently varied during turbine experiments. Turbulence intensity is relatively low (1-3%). The flume side walls and bottom are glass, providing optical access for flow diagnostics, including Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV). Using existing instrumentation and data acquisition, cross-flow turbine rotors and axial-flow turbine blades can be easily tested. Dimensions: Length: 4.6 m, Width: .76 m, Height: .7 m Max Depth: .6 m Capabilities: Cross-flow and axial flow turbine performance and load, characterization, Flow-field quantification,
1 Facility Capability
- Flume
Contact
Harris Hydraulics WASIRF Wave Flume – The Washington Air-Sea Interaction Research Facility (WASIRF) is a wind-wave-current tank facility located at the Harris Hydraulics Laboratory on the UW campus (formerly at the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility). WASIRF is a laboratory testing tank designed to investigate wind-wave-current interactions. The head space above for air flow measures 0.45 m. The maximum wind speed is 10 m/s and the maximum water current in both directions is 0.30 m s-1 with the full working depth and 0.51 m s-1 with a working depth of 0.45 m using a false bottom. An electronically controlled linear actuator at one end of the tank can generate any wave frequency or pattern up to 10 Hz. The computer control of wind, current, and hydraulic wave generating units can accurately repeat unsteady phenomena to allow its statistical study, as well as automate the facility operation. The water within the facility can be heated and maintained at warm temperatures, while the air flow can be cooled and humidity controlled at cool temperatures. Dimensions: Length: 12 m, Width: .91 m, Height: 1.22 m Max Depth: .75 m The University of Washington is associated with the Pacific Marine Energy Center. Capabilities: Wind-water interactions testing & Breaking wave dynamics and turbulence.
1 Facility Capability
- Flume























































