S1

The test facility ‘S1’ nicknamed ‘Vaigai’ is the first in the series of Shock tunnel test facilities at IITK. The facility is multifaced; can be operated as shock tube/ Ludwieg tube/ shock tunnel, both in reflected as well as straight through mode. The test facility is 10 m long with 2m Driver, 6 m Driven and 2 m long dump tank assembly with test section. The facility generates Mach 4 and Mach 6 flow based on the nozzle throat insert, in the enthalpy range 0.3 – 1.8 MJ/kg, Reynolds number range 0.5 – 20 million/m, depending on the mode of operation and fill condition.

S2

The test facility ‘S2’ nicknamed ‘Jigarthanda’ is second in the series of Shock tunnel test facilities at IITK. The facility is a Free Piston driven type; can be operated as reflected shock tunnel or expansion tunnel. The facility consists of 6.5 m long and 225 mm compression tube, 65mm dia and 4.5 m shock tube and 8 m long acceleration tube opening into a diverging nozzle with exit dia of 200 mm. The free piston weighing 15kg is launched from a piston launcher supplied with required pressure from a reservoir. The test facility is designed to generate flow enthalpies ranging from 3 to 40 MJ/kg, simulating flight velocities ranging from 2.5 to 12 km/s depending on fill conditions.

S3

The facility ‘S3’ nicknamed ‘Honeybee’ is the third in the series of the facilities established at HEAL for Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics research. It’s a 15kW plasma torch facility capable of generating Argon, N2 and Air plasma with temperature ranging from 4000 – 6000 K.