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 (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.

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