Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

National Aerospace Laboratories

National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities CSIR-NAL

The National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities (NTAF) division of CSIR-NAL has been serving the country as a
nucleus of research and development in high speed aerodynamic since the last four decades. The division
is well known for its long and proven experience in providing high quality vital and strategic experimental
aerodynamic data required for complex aerospace programmes of the country with the unique ability to
develop novel and advanced test techniques. The NTAF is operated as national facility founded by three

1.2m Trisonic Wind

major users viz., ISRO, DRDO and CSIR and maintained by CSIR-NAL. The NTAF has contributed immensely
to all the National programmes of CSIR-NAL, DRDO, ISRO and HAL with utmost security and confidentiality.
The major test facilities in NTAF are the 1.2m and 0.6m Trisonic wind tunnels with the auxiliary facilities
viz., electrical substation, compressed air facility, design and manufacturing section. NTAF is an active

Tunnel
member of Supersonic Tunnel Association International (STAI).

Major test capabilities

Force and moment measurements
Unsteady pressure measurements

0.6m Trisonic Wind

Steady pressure measurements
Design Section Compressed Air facility
Hinge moment measurements
Air-intake tests
Half-model support system
Multi-booster separation studies

Tunnel
1.2m Wind Tunnel NTAF Facilities
0.6m Wind Tunnel

Store carriage and separation tests

Manufacturing Facility

Forced oscillation technique for dynamic

derivative measurements in pitch and yaw.
Roll damping derivative measurements.
Aero-elastic testing
Design &

Force and moment measurement
Helmet tests
Typical aircraft model
Parachute tests
Flow visualization techniques
Stage separation studies
Component load measurements
Aerodynamic probe calibration
Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP)
Compressed Air
Facilities

Store separation Studies using CTS

Helmet tests
 National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities

1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility

The 1.2m trisonic wind has been the workhorse
for aerodynamic data generation required for the
aerospace programmes in the country. The 1.2m
trisonic wind tunnel along with its auxiliary
facilities was set up and commissioned in 1967.
Over the years several augmentations have been
incorporated to meet the wide range of needs of
aerospace programmes in the country. The tunnel 1.2m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility
has logged more than 42000 blowdowns.
Features of 1.2m trisonic wind tunnel:
Test section : 1.2m x 1.2m
Tunnel Control System Operation : Intermittent blowdown
The Integrated Tunnel Control System (ITCS) is Mach Number Range : 0.2 to 4.0
based on a standard PC with real time hardware Reynolds number : 8x106 to 60x 106 per meter
built into it. The control logic elements are Stagnation Pressure : 1.5 to 8.0 bar
interfaced to the computer through opto- Pressure fluctuation : < 2% (CPRMS)
isolation interface hardware for high level noise Model incidence : -15 to 25 continuous
immunity, while high level reliability is provided and step mode
Model Roll angle : 0 to 360
1.2m Trisonic Wind

by the minimal hardware based design. The

control software is designed to be menu driven, Model side-slip range : -10 to 10 using TRMS
operator independent, interactive and fully Test duration : 40 seconds (typical)
message oriented and is built with necessary Special controls : Transonic Mach number
safety and emergency routines. control, Transonic Mach
Tunnel

number, pressure and roll

Data Acquisition System (DAS) sweep.
NI based 24 channel DAS
Data Processing and Analysis
48 channel high-speed DAS for unsteady
pressure data upto 40 kHz. The host hp-server networked with DAS in 1.2m
0.6m Trisonic Wind

and 0.6m wind tunnels is used for data processing

24 channel high-speed wireless system for
and archival. Data-base Management and analysis
simultaneously acquisition of unsteady
packages developed internally provides quick data
pressure data for 10 kHz.
analysis.
DSP based automatic system for pitch and yaw
Tunnel

damping derivatives using Forced Oscillation Strain Gauge Balances

Rig. Developed expertise in design, manufacturing,
Multi port steady pressure measurements gauging and calibration of balances of different
using 32/ 16 port scanners. load ranges for conventional as well as special
Manufacturing Facility

applications. Balance calibration using manual and

automatic calibration (ABCS) rigs.
Model Support Systems
Sting, ventral or dorsal strut, side strut support
Design &

system, a- and b- sweep using Twin Roll Model

support (TRMS) and Half-model support system
Compressed Air
Facilities

Model mounted on TRMS

1.2m wind tunnel Operating Envelop
 National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities

0.6m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility Features of 0.6m trisonic wind tunnel:
The 0.6m transonic wind was indigenously designed, Test section : 0.6m x 0.6m
built and commissioned in 1989 to support R&D Operation : Intermittent blowdown
activities and meet the anticipated increase in test Mach Number Range : 0.2 to 4.0
requirements. In 2011, the facility was augmented to Reynolds number : 8x106 to 60x 106 per meter
high supersonic test capabilities using Variable Mach Stagnation Pressure : 1.5 to 8.0 bar
Number Flexible Nozzle (VMFN). The special feature Pressure fluctuation : < 2% (CPRMS)
of the facility avoids start-stop loads on the model, Model incidence : -15 to 25 continuous
wherein the tunnel can be started at low supersonic and step mode
Mach number 1.4 and the nozzle contour changed Model Roll angle : 0 to 360
online to achieve higher supersonic Mach numbers Test duration : 60 seconds(typical)
upto 10 sec using VMFN. The tunnel has logged more Special controls : Transonic Mach number
than 5000 blowdowns. control, Transonic Mach
number and pressure sweep.
Special feature : Automatic nozzle contour
for supersonic Mach
numbers using VMFN

1.2m Trisonic Wind

Compressed Air Facilities
Compressed air facility supplies compressed
air to all the facilities in CSIR-NAL Belur
campus.

Tunnel
Two numbers of 4-stage centrifugal
compressors with latest control system.
0.6m Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility Three numbers of 2-stage reciprocating
compressors driven by diesel engine.
Design Section
Two numbers of 6-stage centrifugal

0.6m Trisonic Wind

The design section is having domain knowledge in compressors .
design of high speed wind tunnel models, support
Air receiver capacity: 3600 m3.
systems, strain gauge balances and test rigs. The
design team is fully involved from conceptual design
to final fabrication drawings and CAD models. The

Tunnel
facility is backed by state of the art design tools
Solid and surface modeling capability
(CATIA/ Solid Works/ Auto CAD).
C.A.E. solutions (COSMOS works/ Hyper Works).
Manufacturing Facility

NC programming (Solid CAM).

Design &

Dorsal load measurement model

Compressed
Air Facilities

Strain Gauge balance design optimization using FEA Full scale air-intake model
 National Trisonic Aerodynamic Facilities

Special Test Techniques Air-intake Studies

Multi-booster Separation Studies
Special rig for wind tunnel simulation of
separation trajectories of four simultaneously
separating strap-on boosters from launch vehicle.
Utilizes semi-captive trajectory technique with
6-degrees of freedom for each of four boosters.
To study the design and off-design performance of
air-intakes of aircraft and missile models, special
technique have been developed. The air-intake
models feature extensive instrumentation for
steady and unsteady pressures and special devices
to control the mass flow during the run.

Roll Damping Rig

1.2m Trisonic Wind

A special test rig has been developed to measure

Forced Oscillation Rig the roll damping derivative on spin-stabilized
A single-degree-of-freedom forced oscillation rig rocket models. The rig enables testing of models in
has been developed for measurements of the Mach number range of 0.2 to 3.8 with the
Tunnel

dynamic stability derivatives in pitch and yaw maximum rotation speed of 2500 rpm.
plane of aircraft and launch vehicle
configurations.

Half Model Support System

0.6m Trisonic Wind

Side wall mounted half model support system

enables testing of larger size half-models to
reduce scale effects and to increase accuracy of
the results. The model can be tested in the Mach
number range of 0.2 to 2.0 within the angles of
Tunnel

incidence range of -20 to 45

Flow Visualization
Colour and black & white schlieren
Manufacturing Facility

Shadowgraph
Video and still photography
High speed schlieren
Surface flow visualization using oil flow technique
Design &

Hinge Moment Measurements

Dedicated crossed-flexure-pivot balance for
measurement of hinge-moment on control surface
has been developed. These are specially designed
to measure small hinge-moment in the presence
of large values of other loads. Oil flow pattern Schlieren photograph
Compressed Air

For more information please contact:

Facilities

Director, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, PB 1779, HAL Airport Road, Bangalore-560017, India.
Tel: +91-80-25086000, 25270584; Fax: +91-80-25260862; E-mail: director@nal.res.in; www.nal.res.in