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The NACA Tames its New Wind Tunnel

Cutaway drawing of the 8x6 wind tunnel.
This rendering of the 8 x 6 wind tunnel shows the drive motor is at the left, the test section in the center, and the diffuser to the right. The new muffler section extending to the rear redirected the air back towards the facility and away from the nearest residents.
NASA

On January 16, 1950, Raymond Sharp, director of one of the most advanced scientific research centers in the country, was roused in the middle of the night by a call from his mother complaining about noise emanating from one of the facilities. The racket had woken up the entire neighborhood.

While engineers at the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory rejoiced at the successful testing of a ramjet at twice the speed of sound in the newly opened 8-by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel, the loud roar and rattling windows woke residents up to five miles away. Some thought the center had been bombed.

After assuring the community that all was safe, NACA officials began working feverishly to understand the problem.

The laboratory decided to repeat the test on the following Saturday afternoon so measurements could be made in the surrounding area. Seismologists from John Carroll University and MIT consultants who had designed the wind tunnel’s acoustics were on hand to measure the vibrations and noise.

Three men bend over instruments in the back of a truck
Reverend Henry Birkenhauer and E.F. Carome measure ground vibrations on West 220th Street caused by the operation of the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory. The 8-by-6 was the laboratory’s first large supersonic wind tunnel. It was also the NACA’s most powerful supersonic tunnel, and the NACA’s first facility capable of running an engine at supersonic speeds. The 8-by-6 was originally an open-throat and non-return tunnel. This meant that the supersonic air flow was blown through the test section and out the other end into the atmosphere. Complaints from the local community led to the installation of a muffler at the tunnel exit and the eventual addition of a return leg. Reverend Brikenhauer, a seismologist, and Carome, an electrical technician were brought in from John Carroll University to take vibration measurements during the 8-by-6-foot tunnel’s first run with a supersonic engine. They found that the majority of the vibrations came from the air and not the ground. The tunnel’s original muffler offered some relief during the facility checkout runs, but it proved inadequate during the operation of an engine in the test section. Tunnel operation was suspended until a new muffler was designed and installed. The NACA researchers, however, were pleased with the tunnel’s operation. They claimed it was the first time a jet engine was operated in an airflow faster than Mach 2.
NASA

The impact was more significant than anticipated. The sound emanating from both the supersonic air flow in the tunnel and the operation of the engine produced both low frequencies that rattled windows and high frequencies that produced objectionable noise.

Sharp, who closely monitored the proceedings, ceased all engine testing in the new multi-million-dollar facility until the problem was resolved. NACA engineers worked with the MIT team to develop a solution.

They explored a range of mitigation devices on a subscale model of the tunnel. The basic design for the new muffler section was finalized within four months, and the addition was in place by August 1950.

The new 50-foot tall and 190-foot long concrete structure was connected to the tunnel exit at a 90-degree angle. It contained six large ducts which gradually slowed the airflow. Each duct contained resonator chambers to muffle the sound and vibrations and perforated panels to mitigate higher frequency vibrations.

The flow was then redirected at another right angle and discharged into the atmosphere in the opposite direction of nearby residents. 

Lewis successfully demonstrated the muffler’s effectiveness on December 14, 1950, and the 8-by 6 immediately commenced its propulsion testing. The community, and Sharp’s mother, were appeased.

Over the ensuing decades, the 8-by 6 has tested propulsion systems for a variety of ramjet engines, the Saturn rocket, Space Shuttle, and a variety of military and civilian aircraft.

Workers stand inside wind tunnel openings at three vertical levels.
The six concrete passages in the new acoustical housing addition to the 8 x 6 wind tunnel contained resonators to muffle noise during testing. From here the airflow was directed to the right and out into the atmosphere away from the neighborhood.
NASA

Robert S. Arrighi
NASA Glenn Research Center