SESSION 8 - Status of NASA's Recovery Act Wind Tunnel Upgrade Projects

Mr George Sydnor, Capital Investment Projects Manager

SESSION 8 - NASA ATP

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Aeronautics Test Program (ATP) is implementing five significant ground-based test facility projects across the nation with funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This investment initiative for NASA’s wind tunnels is the largest and most ambitious in the past twenty years.

The projects are:
 

1. The re-activation of a large compressor to provide a second source for compressed air and vacuum to the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at the Ames Research Center;
2. The addition of a high-altitude ice crystal generation capability at the Glenn Research Center Propulsion Systems Laboratory Test Cell 3;
3. A new refrigeration system and tunnel heat exchanger for the Icing Research Tunnel at the Glenn Research Center;
4. Technical viability improvements for the National Transonic Facility at the Langley Research Center; and
5. Modifications to conduct Environmentally Responsible Aviation and Rotorcraft research at the 14x22 Foot Subsonic Tunnel at Langley Research Center.

The technical description and status of each project are given here, including benefits and challenges of the ARRA funded projects. It is envisioned that improved facilities will attract a larger customer base, offer revenue growth, and maintain future operations stability by providing capabilities that are needed for current and future research.

The chosen projects will maximize wind tunnel reliability and maintainability by using newer, proven technologies in place of older and obsolete equipment and processes. The projects will meet NASA’s goal of integrating more efficient, environmentally safer, and less energy consuming hardware and processes into existing tunnel systems.

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