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NASA's 10x10 Wind Tunnel

An above ground yet underground tour

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This is the test chamber of the 10 by 10 wind tunnel. It's one the biggest and fastest wind tunnels in the world. Let's check it out...

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How does it work?

It takes quite the machinery and infrastructure to run a large wind tunnel like this one. The goal is to simulate real life conditions at various speeds and altitudes. So you might have a new jet engine component and you want to see if it holds its own or turns to mush at Mach 2. Test it here.

This wind tunnel is called the 10 by 10, due to the size of the actual test chamber (10 feet by 10 feet). The test chamber size dictates the size of a rocket or airplane model that can be tested in it and this 10 x 10 foot size is very good. So this is a LARGE wind tunnel as wind tunnels go. It's also supersonic as it can generate simulated speeds of up to MACH 3.5 or three and a half times the speed of sound. Let's snoop around and see how it all works (and maybe get our hat flight certified for MACH 3).

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tunnel control speed velocity

What we have here are the many pneumatic actuators that squeeze the 2" thick stainless steel "throat" or sidewalls of the test chamber's inlet. So you want to go faster? Close the inlet up a bit with these pneumatic babies. Way cool pretty red and yellow buttons too:-)

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A close up of one of the giant pneumatic presses. We like to call them big"hat" squishers:-).

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power control rheostat high voltage

This is what's directly above the test chamber. It's probably not a great place to be when the tunnel's running:-) When this tunnel is fully cranked up you can feel the vibrations outside and in the areas around the complex. In the old days lights in other buildings would flicker and rumor has it a tunnel run took out the Cleveland Browns stadium lights once, in the competition for electricity.

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power control rheostat high voltage

Here's a small example of how data is collected during a tunnel "run". These small tubes connect to different pressure transducers and what-nots to measure what's going on. We're thinking of using something like this for an automated martini machine:-)

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power control rheostat high voltage

This is a BIG motor. There used to be a sign somewhere around here that said "do not service without reading the manual". Ah huh. Good advise. What's most impressive is that this is just one of...

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power control rheostat high voltage

four. Four bad-ass motors all ganged together. But then there's even more in a secondary building for those every so high speed tests. This photo is from the ceiling crane. "To the Bridge Scotty!". But don't try to service these things without reading the manual first!

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power control rheostat high voltage

These are liquid rheostats for the big wound rotor drive motors. In other words they are giant speed controls for the tunnel. It takes 3 tanks per motor (one for each electrical feed phase). These puppies are filled with water and calcium carbonate which is used to control the PH (which in turn controls the conductivity). They each handle 6.9KVolts which is a lot of AZooNY juice.

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power control rheostat high voltage

Here is the main drive gearing, what all those big motors are connected to. See that little round window portal in the silver wall? There's a room in there. Let's go inside there and see what is turning.

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The Main Drive

How you might wonder, are supersonic speed created? With giant fans? Nope, won't work. You need a compressor, similar to what a jet engine has to push that much air. That's what drives the tunnel. We can't normally see the compressor but we can see the front of it if we get a little bit crazy.

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We will need to go into here to see it.
Warring! Confined Space! Get some plant protection!

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Here is the platform for holding hats inside the main inlet plenum:-). A place rarely seen or visited. Quite the oily mess actually. The main shaft never stops rotating as it would warp and deform under it's own weight, so watch your head. In the background is the front of the main drive compressor. Always turning.

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Okay, that's it for now we can't top that. For more details on the 10x10 wind tunnel you can see the official NASA website here. Remember your plant protection, check your manuals, and most importantly don't try this at home.

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