9-Ft By 7-Ft Supersonic Wind Tunnel Nozzle Improvement Study

Engineers at the Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center have recently embarked on a project focused on improving flow quality and tunnel capabilities in the 9-ft by 7-ft supersonic wind tunnel. Collaborating with Jacobs Tech Group, the project has explored potential improvements to the nozzle design using computational fluid dynamics. Preliminary predictions suggest changes to the nozzle design could significantly improve flow quality at the lower operating range (M1.5-1.8), however potential improvements in the upper operating range have yet to be realized.