info: The 8" X 8" Supersonic Wind Tunnel

The 8 x 8 facility is an aptly-named 200mm x 200mm high Reynolds number supersonic blowdown facility, equipped with Mach 2 and Mach 3 nozzles. The tunnel is composed of three interchangeable test sections, and a number of special-purpose sections are available. This facility is extremely flexible, in that a large number of different configurations can be tested with relative ease. It is suitable for testing over a wide range of Reynolds numbers, and models can be mounted on the floor, on a false plate, or on a sting. Optical access is through two 8" diameter schlieren windows, and their location is variable by changing the section location and orientation. Surveys can be made in the transverse and longitudinal directions, and an eccentric window arrangement allows detailed examination of three-dimensional flows. The facility is supported by Schlieren and shadowgraph systems, one- and two-component automated traverse systems, automated scanivalve pressure survey equipment, eight channels of high-frequency pressure transducers and six channels of constant-temperature anemometer equipment.