Sustainment program for the 16-ft tunnels in the propulsion wind tunnel facility at the Arnold Engineering Development Center

Abstract

The age and condition of wind tunnel facilities in the United States necessitates that significant sustainment efforts be undertaken to maintain reliable and efficient testing capability into the next decade. Many national facilities located at the major NASA centers and the Department of Defense's Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) are in the middle of or preparing for major refurbishment programs. In Fiscal Year 1998, the Propulsion Wind Tunnel (PWT) Facility at AEDC launched a 7-year, $80M sustainment program to improve reliability, reduce testing cycle time, and reduce the number of operational stationkeepers, and improve the quality of test data in the 16-ft Transonic and Supersonic Wind Tunnels. The program has four major elements: (1.) Replace the data acquisition and processing systems in both Tunnels 16T and 16S; (2.) Replace the starting motor system for the 16T/ S Main Drive System; (3.) Provide a second atmospheric air dryer for the PWT facility; and (4.) Improve the flow quality of Tunnel 16S. These efforts, along with ongoing internally funded maintenance and improvement projects, will maintain the world-class status of these important development tunnels.