Rotor Test Cell

 

Capabilities & Expertise

The ViGYAN Wind Tunnel, built in 1985, is the only commercially available wind tunnel facility in the Hampton Roads region outside of NASA Langley. It has been a part of numerous advanced research and development efforts for NASA and ViGYAN. These include:

  • Dr. D. Rao, one of the ViGYAN founders, worked on and received numerous patents during the 1980's and 90's in the area of vortex flows, vortex flaps, and delta wing aerodynamics. Much of this work was the result of ViGYAN's Low Speed Wind Tunnel.

 

  • All of the U.S. Mars landers supported by the NASA Langley Entry Descent and Landing (EDL) team have been tested in the ViGYAN Wind Tunnel. These include Mars Pathfinder, Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity), Mars Phoenix, Mars Science Lab (Curiosity), and Mars Insight (2018).

 

  • ViGYAN has been at the forefront in the development of advanced damping systems for sting-mounted wind tunnel models. Originally developed in the ViGYAN Wind Tunnel under an Air Force SBIR, these systems have been continuously improved and implemented in both NASA and Air Force wind tunnel facilities.

 

  • Our most recent upgrade o the facility includes a Rotor Test Cell, used to develop the various pro[eller systems (PTS, Open Rotor, Rear Cone Thruster). The cell offers a safe enclosure for testing high-RPM propellers, data acquisition for measuring performance, and endurance testing.

 

  • Current research initiatives include the Digital Bridge thermal anemometry system, advanced electric motor propeller testing hardware, a unique free-flying autonomous ProbBot wind tunnel survey system, and the Active Ride Improvement System (ARIS) for mitigating turbulence effects on small aircraft.

 

 

Need Caption - J Behun will take some better images

Magenn Power Inc., has created the Magenn Air Rotor System, an inexpensive, lighter-than-air, tethered wind turbine that generates electrical energy by rotating about a horizontal axis in response to active airflow at 60 to 1,000 feet in altitude.

ViGYAN provides an extensive array of associated support, including wind tunnel model fabrication, instrumentation and electronics, test engineering, and aerodynamics research expertise and computational fluid dynamics.

 

Tunnel and other engineering services are competitively priced and available via company purchase orders, credit card, or via the TEAMS support services contract at nearby NASA Langley Research Center.

 

Typical Wind Tunnel tests over the past several years have included:

 

  • Architectural Screens

 

  • Instrument & Sensors

 

  • Spacecraft

 

  • Typographical Models

ViGYAN's Low Speed Wind Tunnel is a conventional, straight-through, open-return layout powered by a variable-pitch, multi-blade axial fan located at the exit, providing a precisely controlled airspeed in the test section, ranging from 40 to 180 feet per second (27 to 122 miles per hour).

 

Physical Description -

  • Inflatable Structures

 

  • Aircraft

 

  • Buildings

 

  • Ground Vehicles

 

Architectural Screens

 

Instrument & Sensors

 

Spacecraft

 

Architectural Screens - ViGYAN has conducted drag testing for Cambridge Architectural to measure drag on architectural screen materials to better assess wind loads on the materials incorporated into building designs.

GE Transportation - ViGYAN has tested heat sensors for GE Transportation to better understand airflow and to help develop improved internal architectures. The sensors are typically installed on railroads to look for bearings that become hot as trains transverse the tracks.

Mars Phoenix Lander ViGYAN supported this NASA study to help in the analysis and prediction of the vehicle's entry aerodynamics. Similar studies have been conducted in support of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, the Mars Exploration Rover, and earlier NASA Mars-entry studies.

Typographical Models

Inflatable Structures

 

Aircraft

 

Buildings

GE Transportation ViGYAN has tested heat sensors for GE Transportation to better understand airflow and to help develop improved internal architectures. The sensors are typically installed on railroads to look for bearings that become hot as trains transverse the tracks.

GE Transportation ViGYAN has tested heat sensors for GE Transportation to better understand airflow and to help develop improved internal architectures. The sensors are typically installed on railroads to look for bearings that become hot as trains transverse the tracks.

The Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS) ViGYAN has evaluated three versions of this inflatable wind turbine concept. The purpose of the tests has been to assess performance, explore new ideas, understand the pertinent aerodynamics, and develop parametric trends. The ultimate goal was to assist Magenn in design of an optimum configuration and calibration of the company's empirical prediction tools.

GE Transportation ViGYAN has tested heat sensors for GE Transportation to better understand airflow and to help develop improved internal architectures. The sensors are typically installed on railroads to look for bearings that become hot as trains transverse the tracks.

GE Transportation ViGYAN has tested heat sensors for GE Transportation to better understand airflow and to help develop improved internal architectures. The sensors are typically installed on railroads to look for bearings that become hot as trains transverse the tracks.

Ground Vehicles