The Icing Wind Tunnel is a plant for ice and aerodynamic testing. It is unique in the world, in size and operational envelope:
Icing Testing: reproduce natural icing conditions in compliance with FAR Part 25 and Part 29 Appendix C criteria and their extension to SLD (Supercooled Large Droplets) cloud conditions (Appendix O) for design and certification of aircraft/rotorcraft subsystems;
Aerodynamic Testing: support both low and high subsonic aerodynamic aircraft/rotorcraft research by increasing Reynold’s number with use of cooling (up to -40 °C) and the variation of static pressure (up to 1.45 bar).
The IWT is a closed loop wind tunnel, with the capability to cooling down and pressurize/de-pressurize the airflow. For either icing or aerodynamic test campaign, three interchangeable test sections and an open jet configuration are available. A dedicated cooling plant regulates the air flow temperature by refrigerating the air via a twin row Heat Exchanger, which is located in the back leg, upstream the third corner, and down stream the fan.
– 4 Test Sections: (1.15 – 3.60) x 2.35 m2
– Maximum Mach number: 0.25 – 0.70
– Temperature Range (°C): -40 – Ambient
– Pressure range (bar): 0.39 – 1.45
– FAR Part 25 and Part 29 Appendix C + SLD Conditions (Appendix O) compliant
– Instrumentation: Droplet sizing techniques (PDPA, FSSP, OAP, HSI), LWC measurements (icing blade, hot-wire, robust probe), Cloud Uniformity measurements (icing grid, cylinders)
– Also suitable for Aerodynamic tests
1,5 working shift, 5 days/week