ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – At the heart of what goes on at AEDC are engineers.
Engineers oversee the testing, conduct the research and complete the maintenance necessary for AEDC to accomplish its mission. Now, it’s time to celebrate the impact these men and women and other engineers have on the world around them.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – The prediction made years ago by the team at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland, has come to fruition, and their forecast of an increased workload was on point.
For the past several years, Tunnel 9 has been running at near to capacity. Tunnel 9 Director Dan Marren said the recent uptick in facility activity can be heavily attributed to what he described as currently the “hottest ticket” in aerospace – hypersonics.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – For some the term “outage” may conjure up images of throttling down while the maintenance team takes control of the cell, using the downtime to recharge operationally before a return to full production.
But for the team at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland, the facility’s annual outage has been anything but idle.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – Through a combined effort of AEDC team members, a 1996 pressure vessel hazard analysis software program was installed and made useable on a current system at Arnold Air Force Base.
Joshua Diller, an AEDC system administrator, explained that he found a way to install the analysis software, written to be used with Windows 95, so that it would run as needed to help with early engineering analyses related to pressure vessels.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – The AEDC T-11 engine test cell at Arnold Air Force Base has been enhanced to perform a wide variety of research tests in addition to its primary role of testing small engines in a direct-connect configuration.
The Air Force Project Manager for upcoming technology tests in T-11, Joshua Osborne, explained that one of the largest benefits is that this provides a cost effective way to develop and prove needed test techniques at a lower scale or at the component level to reduce risk to high-cost advanced weapon systems.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – The Air Engineering Metal Trades Council – AEDC’s largest union – installed its newly elected officers recently.
Jay Vandergriff retired Jan. 25 and passed the gavel to Alvin Cleek, who was elected as the Council’s new president. Cleek has worked at AEDC for 13 years and has been an ironworker for 33 years. He has served as chief steward for the ironworkers and carpenters for the past 9 years. Prior to that he was trustee and vice president.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – AEDC analysis team members have developed and demonstrated a first generation full frequency range screech analysis methodology for a re-heater on turbine engines to reduce instability when testing in the facilities at Arnold Air Force Base.
Innovative ideas like this one are common in daily work across AEDC and the U.S. Air Force, as the Air Force is known for its dedication in innovation and delivering war winning capabilities to the warfighter by inspiring and providing the necessary tools and support.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – A team effort between personnel at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland, and Arnold Air Force Base recently facilitated the replacement of the 20-year-old Tunnel 9 system used to record, process and display test data.
Last month, Tunnel 9 completed the final installation and necessary sign-offs for its new Enterprise Data Acquisition and Processing System (EDAPS). EDAPS replaces the Legacy Data Acquisition and Recording Equipment (DARE) IX system used previously at Tunnel 9 and marks the first installation of EDAPS outside of Tennessee.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – The growth of AEDC’s critical role in providing the United States Armed Forces with developmental test and evaluation support for the newest and premier weapon systems continues with the stand up of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Combined Test Force (CTF) to support modernization and life extension for the LGM-30 Minuteman III (MMIII) and development of the next generation Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) ICBM.
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ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. – The team at AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 in White Oak, Maryland, has for some time considered a 360-degree capability for tests involving temperature-sensitive paint, or TSP, and has worked for about a year on ways to achieve it.
Thanks to recent innovations developed after a customer’s need provided a push, the Tunnel 9 team’s TSP capability is now one step closer to painting the entire picture on wind tunnel models. The team built a prototype system mounted in the plenum of the T9 test cell tunnel to allow for data collection from the bottom of the test cell – the most challenging view from an engineering perspective.
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