THE ARL THIRTY-INCH HYPERSONIC WIND TUNNEL INITIAL CALIBRATION AND PERFORMANCE
Open Access
- 1 December 1963
- report
- Published by Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)
Abstract
The ARL 30'' Hypersonic Wind Tunnel is a large blow-down facility that uses a methane-oxygen fired zirconia pebble bed to heat the air prior to expansion to flow Mach numbers ranging from 16 to 22 at free stream Reynolds numbers approaching 10 to the 6th power/ft. This report describes the components of the facility, discusses the operation of the tunnel, and presents calibrations of two conical nozzles, developing approximately M = 16.5 and M = 18.5. The performances of the heater, diffuser and vacuum system are evaluated and the operational experiences gained during the initial operating period are reviewed. To aid in planning test programs for the facility, an appendix is included that details the performance of the facility, including the wind tunnel performance with a planned expansion of the vacuum station.Keywords
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