Instrument Information
IDENTIFIER urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:pal.marswit::1.2
NAME Mars Wind Tunnel
TYPE Wind Tunnel
DESCRIPTION The Mars Wind Tunnel (MWT) is one of several wind tunnels operated by Arizona State University at the Planetary Aeolian Laboratory at NASA Ames Research Laboratory, Moffett Field, CA, Building N242. The tunnel is of open circuit design and is 12 meters long (40 ft.). It is constructed in five disassemblable sections mounted on casters. The first three sections are 0.9 meters high by 1.2 meters wide in cross-section, where the latter two sections comprise the test area. The last two sections are the tunnel diffuser, which contain the air ejector and fan drive systems. The vertical dimension of these two sections increases from 0.9 meters (3 ft.) to 1.6 meters (5.33 ft.). During low pressure operation, tunnel flow is driven by the air ejector system. This system is powered by pressurized air supplied by an Atlas Copco 75HP air compressor dedicated to building N242. This compressor produces air flow at a rate in excess of 260 CFM with a maximum final pressure of 183 psi. The air supply for the air ejector system arrives at a nominal pressure of 175 psi and is controlled by a two inch motor driven ball valve. Maximum tunnel flow velocity with this system is 120 m/s (390 ft/sec) at 5.3 millibars (4 mm Hg). During operation at standard atmospheric pressure, tunnel flow is generated by the fan drive system attached to the end of the tunnel. The maximum tunnel flow velocity with this system is 10 m/s (33 ft/sec). Tunnel instrumentation includes a static probe, a traversing boundary layer probe, and a temperature/humidity transmitter. The probes are permanently attached in the test section of the tunnel and the temperature/humidity transmitter is suspended in the tower adjacent to the tunnel. Data from these instruments are delivered to the control room computer for interpretation. A removable flow straightening screen is currently in place to control boundary layer turbulence.
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