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Home > Capabilities > Hypersonic wind tunnel > F4 hypersonic wind tunnel

F4 hypersonic wind tunnel

Arc heated wind tunnel
Hypersonic, hypervelocity, up to 6 km/s
Impulse generator up to a power of about 150 MW.
The usual blow down duration obtained is 200 ms.
Test conditions can reach a total pressure of 500 bar together with an enthalpy of 16,5 mJ/kg (reduced H/RTo = 200).

 

MAIN FEATURES

  • The working gas (air or nitrogen) contained in the arc chamber (adjustable from 6 to 15 litres) is brought to the total conditions by a high intensity electric arc. The electrical energy is supplied to the electrodes by an impulse generator up to a power of about 150 MW.
  • The usual blow down duration obtained is 200 ms. The test conditions can reach a total pressure of 500 bar together with an enthalpy of 16,5 mJ/kg (reduced H/RTo = 200).
  • 4 contoured nozzles allow tests at various values of dissociation parameter (roL) and rarefaction parameter (M/Re 1/2 ); 
  • Models are mounted on a sting holder (angle of attack range 0 to 50°, sideslip range 20°), the range can be adapted on request with cranked stings.

TYPICAL TESTS

  • Force measurements (6 components) on complete space plane models at high angle of attack
  • Force measurements (3 components) on capsule models
  • Hinge moment measurements on model elements and control surfaces
  • Wall pressure measurements 
  • Heat flux measurements on model
  • Models sized and equipped for test in F4 are suitable for testing in the S4MA cold hypersonic wind tunnel.

 

 Operating range

TEST TECHNIQUES

  • Data acquisition system with 72 channels. Each one has an analog conditioner, an amplifier filter, a 16 bit 50 kHz analog to digital converter and a buffer memory of 64000 samples.
  • Pressure measurements with rapid response transducers
  • Force measurements (three or six components) with inertia load compensation (7 accelerometers on the balance and/or on the model)
  • Wall temperature measurements with thermocouples for heat flux and total enthalpy calculation
  • Schlieren visualisations : one view per shot or high speed camera (10,000 frames/s)
  • Laser diode infrared absorption spectroscopy technique (LDAS) for direct free stream velocity, rotational temperature and nitrogen oxide concentration measurements
  • On request: 
    • Free stream and shock layer emission spectroscopy (Optical Multi-channel Analyser Spectrometer)
    • Free stream spectroscopy with Electron Beam Fluorescence technique (EBF)
    • Streak camera for flow field analysis

CONFIDENTIALITY

  • Model preparation and test carried out in protected areas.
  • Absolute confidentiality guarantied.