追问跨学科研究之道——北京大学环境风洞五十年发展的启示OA

As a type of research infrastructure that extends low-speed aerodynamics and wind-tunnel experimentation into environmental science and engineering,environmental wind tunnels have played a significant role in atmospheric pollutant dispersion,wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics,urban wind environments,and environmental assessment.Since the construction and effective operation of such facilities depend not only on technical design,but also on the guidance of major real-world problems,interdisciplinary collaboration,and institutional support,it is crucial to trace the birth and development of Peking University's environmental wind tunnels.By examining how mechanics traditions,wind-tunnel experimental foundations,national environmental protection,industrial pollution problems,and urban environmental assessment jointly shaped this facility,the study reflects on how environmental wind tunnels were built through interdisciplinary efforts,how they contributed to the development of environmental science,and what principles can be drawn for conducting interdisciplinary research more effectively. A historical case-study approach is adopted to reconstruct the birth and development of Peking University's environmental wind tunnels.The study is based mainly on a review of historical documents,published literature,disciplinary records,institutional materials,and the project list of the 1#and 2#environmental wind tunnels from 1975 to 2018,supplemented by interviews with key participants involved in the construction,operation,and interdisciplinary use of the facilities.Through these materials,the development process from the low-speed recirculating wind tunnel completed in 1958,through the 0#,1#,and 2#environmental wind tunnels,to the 3#environmental wind tunnel built after 2018 is traced.The analysis focuses on how environmental problems were translated into aerodynamic and experimental problems,how the wind tunnels were embedded in the institutional development of environmental science,and how their functions shifted between applied services and basic scientific exploration. The formation of Peking University's environmental wind tunnels resulted from the convergence of its mechanics and wind-tunnel experimental traditions,the applied orientation of fluid mechanics,and the rise of China's environmental protection agenda in the 1970s.The development of the facility can be divided into three stages.The 0#and 1#tunnels marked the incubation and initial exploration stage,in which wind-tunnel methods were introduced into atmospheric pollution diffusion and environmental aerodynamics.The 2#tunnel marked the platformization stage,during which the facility became a large atmospheric-boundary-layer simulation platform serving pollution dispersion,complex underlying surfaces,wind loads,urban wind environments,public-safety-related diffusion studies,and wind engineering and industrial aerodynamics.The 3#tunnel represents an effort toward integrated environmental simulation,with the potential to connect aerodynamic simulation,smog-chamber chemical simulation,and health-effect exposure studies.Institutionally,the environmental wind tunnels were closely related to the establishment and development of Peking University's Center for Environmental Sciences,the State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control,and the College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering.Scientifically,they helped extend atmospheric pollution research from pollutant sources and chemical formation to physical processes such as transport,dispersion,deposition,and resuspension.Project data from 1975 to 2018 show a persistent tension between applied services and basic research.Among 188 projects,156 projects,or 83.0％,served environmental governance,public safety,commissioned social demands,and engineering wind-environment or wind-load testing,while only 32 projects,or 17.0％,directly addressed basic scientific exploration.Aerosol dry deposition studies in 2004,2013,and 2018 demonstrate the platform's potential for basic environmental research,but also reveal the discontinuity of long-term knowledge accumulation. The case shows that a research infrastructure becomes an interdisciplinary knowledge platform only when five elements operate together.First,major real-world problems provide problem orientation.Second,practical environmental pressures must be translated into scientific and experimental variables,such as wind speed,turbulence structure,underlying-surface roughness,tracer release,and concentration measurement.Third,expertise negotiation is needed so that researchers can move between the languages of mechanics,atmospheric science,environmental chemistry,engineering,and governance.Fourth,platform institutionalization transforms temporary collaboration into a research ecology through facilities,organizations,teams,courses,and methods.Fifth,long-term support is necessary for basic exploration,technical staff,instrument maintenance,and uncertain research outputs.The experience of Peking University's environmental wind tunnels suggests that universities and funding agencies should evaluate research infrastructure not only by short-term papers or commissioned services,but also by its capacity to translate social needs into scientific questions,sustain technical expertise,and generate basic knowledge across disciplinary boundaries.