info: High Reynolds Number Test Facility (HRTF)

The Supertunnel

The Superpipe experiment demonstrated the success of high-pressure air as a working fluid to attain very high Reynolds numbers cost-effectively. In 1998, an ONR-DURIP grant (N00014-98-I-0325) was awarded to construct a wind tunnel based on the same principle. This wind tunnel is called the Princeton/ONR High Reynolds Number Testing Facility -- HRTF, and like the Superpipe it uses air at pressures up to 3,500psi as the working fluid. The primary purpose of the new facility is to study the hydrodynamic forces, moments and flow-fields produced by submarine shapes up to length Reynolds numbers of 175 x 106 (approximately 1/5th full-scale). There are two working sections: each is 8ft long with an internal diameter of 18in. The facility will be equipped with a Magnetic Suspension Balance (MSB) to allow measurements free of the interference produced by the support systems usually employed in these applications. The new facility is currently (Spring of 2000) available for new experiments (without MSB). The MSB will be designed, constructed and tested under the supervision of Colin Britcher of ODU. We anticipate that the MSB is expected to be ready for full-scale testing in December 2000. See for more details.

Relevent publications can be found in the publications section under supertunnel.