China looks forward to performing more hypersonic research in the future inside the largest free-piston-driven shock tunnel in the world.
The design of the facility, which is based in Mianyang, Sichuan, is derived from the proposed design of Australian scientists. It's so powerful that simulations of over 33 times the speed of sound can be conducted inside the area.
Chinese Wind Tunnel Can Handle More Experiments
According to the researchers who are involved in the project, the wind tunnel will be a useful place for the development of hypersonic weapons.
As a matter of fact, it can also be used in placing the astronauts who will be traveling to the moon. It's so huge that it is equivalent to a myriad of facilities in the Western region.
The free-piston driven expansion tube wind tunnel, which is 80 cm in diameter, will be a great facility for containing an aircraft. The ground test support comes with an impressive simulation power at the "second cosmic speed."
As of writing, there's no indication or hint regarding the total cost of the facility's construction. It's also not mentioned in the report if the tunnel was hit by the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Sichuan earlier this week.
The Origin of the Stalker Tube
The Stalker tube was inspired by a great space engineer Raymond Stalker who invented the tunnel in the 1960s, according to South China Morning Post.
The era of this invention can be traced back to the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union. At that time, constructing wind tunnels was an option to simulate flight conditions.
However, it was found that hydrogen is needed to do such a thing. The downside of using this element is that it's highly explosive and very costly.
Stalker thought of an idea that involved replacing hydrogen. Instead, he laid out a design that would utilize high-pressure nitrogen.
This will fuel the piston tunnel to recreate shockwaves that are only achievable when someone operates a hypersonic plane.
Since then, Stalker and his colleagues have used this invention to save a lot of money and time by experimenting with hypersonic flight.
In the previous decades, this design had been widely popular in many facilities. It became a standard of design that some countries follow.
Related Article : Experts Claim Russia's Kinzhal Missile is Not Hypersonic, so Where Does it Fit in?
Brand-New Free-Piston Driven Tunnel
Per Lyu Zhiguo, the project team leader, China has improved the Australian tunnel to adapt to modernity. What the team did was wrap the nitrogen storage component on the piston tube.
The study says that the brand-new design for the tunnel does not only decrease the facility's size but it's also helpful in diminishing the vibrations generated on the usual Stalker tube.
China is expanding the building of wind tunnels, so more hypersonic programs will be launched in the future. The JF-22 tunnel in Beijing is projected to be finished soon. It is expected to be much more effective than the Stalker tube regarding flight conditions.
Speaking of hypersonics, the US might be lagging behind China and Russia regarding this weapon type, per Asia Times. To address the gap, the country has been reportedly improving its hypersonic technologies so it could compete with the other giants in the world.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
