1. Jason Darby 1-17-08 Aerothermodynamics Feasibility and Wind Tunnel Costs
AAE 450 Spring 2008

2. Wind Tunnel Costs Purdue’s “Quiet” Mach 6 Wind Tunnel
About $10/hour to run
Only 18” (~46 cm) in diameter
6-8 second runs
NASA’s Glenn Research Center 1’x1’ Supersonic Wind Tunnel
Approximately $34/hour to run
12” (~30.5 cm) in diameter
10 discrete airspeeds between Mach 1.3 and 6.0
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Aerothermodynamics and Thermal Loads

3. Overall Feasibility Check
Scaled-down model
Less than 46 cm in length (30 cm in NASA case)
Less than 2116 cm2 area (929 cm2 in NASA case)
Man-hours
Building and testing model, analyzing results
Future Work
Update numbers on size, materials, and cost of model
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Aerothermodynamics and Thermal Loads

4. Backup Slides Wind Tunnel Comparison
Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Specs
Purdue "Quiet" Mach 6
NASA GRC 1'x1' SWT
Langley 20 inch SWT
Max Test Section Speed (Mach) 6 5
Simulated Altitude (km)
Test Section Reynolds No. (1/m)
3x10^6 - 20x10^6
0.4x10^ x10^6
50x10^3 - 20x10^6
Dynamic Pressure (kPa)
Test Section Temperature (K)
418
Max Model Size (cm^2)
2116
929
645
Cost
$10/hour
$34/hour
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Aerothermodynamics and Thermal Loads

5. References
Estorf, Malte; Radespiel, Rolfe; Schneider, Steven; Johnson, Heath; Hein, Stefan, “Surface-Pressure Measurements of Second-Mode Instability in Quiet Hypersonic Flow”, 2008
AAE 450 Spring 2008
Aerothermodynamics and Thermal Loads