DURIP The IIT National Diagnostic Facility
Abstract
The Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) is seeking funding to enhance its National DiagnosticFacility (NDF), a wind tunnel facility constructed in the 1980s with substantial DoD funding.Despite its historical significance and productivity in high Reynolds number turbulent flowsresearch, the facility s usage has declined over the past decade due to the principal userstransitioning to other activities. The proposed enhancements will bring the tunnel up to currentstate-of-the-art standards, enabling the facility to support cutting-edge research in fluid dynamicsand aeroacoustics for decades with minimal maintenance costs, thus benefiting the DoD for yearsto come. Specifically, the facility requires modernization of its 2000 hp motor/drive system andwind tunnel temperature control system, which is based on an 1100 ton-hr ice storage unit. Theenhancements also include the addition of aeroacoustic measurement andunsteady flowcapabilities for DoD-relevant experiments in high Reynolds number turbulent shear flows. Amodular acoustic test section cart with tensioned Kevlar walls will couple the test section to ananechoic acoustic enclosure with a cutoff frequency of 250 Hz, enabling far-field acousticmeasurements of flow-induced noise generated by objects in the air stream. Additionally, aremovable set of unsteady louvers just upstream of the contraction will enable prescribedoscillatory and transient wind gusts. Together with existing instrumentation, these upgrades andenhancements will make the NDF a state-of-the-art multipurpose research facility for investigatingfundamental and applied questions in fluid dynamics and aeroacoustics, as well as a platform totrain the next generation of researchers in these important fields.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Mar 15, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412203
Entities
People
- Louis N Cattafesta
Organizations
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy