Space & Physics

Maintenance on High-Speed Wind Tunnel

During April and May 2024, maintenance is being conducted within the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) complex at NASA Ames Research Center.  One key part of this maintenance is the inspection of stators in the 3-stage compressor.  Stators are fixed blades that control the flow of air, which can reach a speed of Mach 1.4 […]

SINSIN
May 16, 2024 - 01:00
 0  1
Maintenance on High-Speed Wind Tunnel
A Close up shot inside of the wind tunnel 3- stage compressor which shows the blades of the wind tunnel
Clamshell hatch of UPWT 3-stage compressor in the open position. The outer diameter of the case is approximately 24 feet. Stator blades (in green on left) will be inspected and instrumented to determine extent of stator resonance which occurs at different RPMs.
NASA/ James Bell

During April and May 2024, maintenance is being conducted within the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) complex at NASA Ames Research Center.  One key part of this maintenance is the inspection of stators in the 3-stage compressor.  Stators are fixed blades that control the flow of air, which can reach a speed of Mach 1.4 (about 1170 miles per hour) within the UPWT.  Blade resonance of the stators may be responsible for significant wear on the compressor.  The figure below shows the opening of the stator clamshell to enable that inspection.

Share

Details

Last Updated
May 15, 2024

Related Terms

Explore More

4 min read

NASA Teammates Recall Favorite Memories Aboard Flying Laboratory

Article 1 day ago
10 min read

What Is… Earth’s Atmosphere?

Article 2 days ago
5 min read

Station Science 101 | Research in Microgravity: Higher, Faster, Longer

Article 2 days ago
Keep Exploring

Discover Related Topics

Missions

Humans in Space

Climate Change

Solar System

Read More

Tags:

Previous Article

Why it's vital we fight prejudices about the elderly once and for all

Next Article

NASA Honors Three Chroniclers for Helping Tell America’s Space Story  

What's Your Reaction?

like

dislike

love

funny

angry

sad

wow

SIN
SIN ScienceX Information Network (SIN) | ScienceX Innovations

Related Posts

Early drug treatment leads to better outcomes for Crohn’s disease

Early drug treatment leads to better outcomes for Crohn...

SIN Feb 22, 2024  0  1

NASA September 2023 Temperature Data Shows Continued Record Warming

NASA September 2023 Temperature Data Shows Continued Re...

SIN Oct 13, 2023  0  1

Shaigh Sisk: Keeping the Wheels Turning in Projects and Pottery

Shaigh Sisk: Keeping the Wheels Turning in Projects and...

SIN Oct 4, 2023  0  2