Wind Tunnels Of Nasa

This book describes the history of the NASA Ames 40- by 80-Foot and 80- by 120-Foot Wind Tunnels and is organized in four parts: Design and Construction; Operation and Management History; Research History; and Concluding Remarks, References, and Appendices.

This book provides comprehensive coverage of the history and accomplishments of wind tunnels, featuring a reproduction of the NASA history document, Wind Tunnels of NASA, along with a special section outlining some current NASA wind tunnel capabilities. The foreword of this important volume states: Although wind tunnels are among the most important tools of aeronautical research, these facilities have remained the least understood. Some say this is partly because the instrumentation and calibration are complicated and difficult to understand and partly because the researchers that use wind tunnels too often speak in language intended for their peers and invented for their particular disciplines. Whatever the reason, this book goes a long way toward bridging the gap between engineer and layman. Wind Tunnels of NASA is both factual and readable. By no means an inventory of wind tunnels, the book does not even contain a complete listing of current facilities-that being one element in its readability. The purpose of the book is to describe the contribution of these remarkable research facilities to the science of flight. What the text deals with are topics such as these. Why are wind tunnels useful? What do they do superbly well, and how? What have they done that is so great? How did they develop, and what forms did this development take? What are their typical problems and limitations? What are the pitfalls in scaling, calibration, and instrumentation ? Are there unexpected surprises when one goes from tunnels to full-size aircraft? Where are we now in wind tunnel research? Wind Tunnels answers these questions very well. NASA's wind tunnels form the basis for the book, but Air Force, university, and industry facilities are also considered and the wind tunnels of other countries are assessed to some extent. Wind tunnels are truly individual and unique in function and suggests the quality of service they have given to the nation's technological advances in aerospace. Wind Tunnels of NASA is co-authored by an aeronautical engineer with more than 40 years of NASA wind tunnel expertise and by a highly respected engineering and science writer. Donald D. Baals has been with NASA and its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), since 1939 and has continued to serve the agency as a senior research associate since retirement. Among his many honors have been the NASA Medal for Exceptional Service (1971) and the NASA Public Service Award (1976) for his role in planning the National Transonic Facility. Mr. Baals lives in Newport News, Virginia. William R. Corliss, a science publisher and freelance author, has written a number of publications for NASA, including The Interplanetary Pioneers and NASA Sounding Rockets. He lives in Glen Arm, Maryland.

"This book provides a rigorous study of NASA's wind tunnels, which have been key to much of the Agency's aeronautical successes. Utilizing a convenient format to convey the special characteristics, technical specifications, and research highlights of over 100 individual wind tunnels, entries are organized by NASA Center with a narrative essay describing each Center's role in wind tunnel research and then delving into the details of its wind tunnels, with an eye towards historic preservation"--

"A massive, but little-known, facility in Cleveland, Ohio, played a vital role in the U.S. development of jets, in the training of NASA's first astronauts, and in making NASA's first missions beyond Earth orbit possible. Revolutionary Atmosphere tells the story of this obscure giant. Starting life in 1944 as the Altitude Wind Tunnel, it was the first wind tunnel that could study aircraft engines under realistic flight conditions; and it was enormous-in its original configuration, it could even accommodate full-size aircraft. The tunnel could not only simulate the high speeds of jet aircraft, like other wind tunnels, but could simulate the pressures and temperatures of higher elevation flight."--Publisher description.

A brand-new edition of the classic guide on low-speed wind tunnel testing While great advances in theoretical and computational methods have been made in recent years, low-speed wind tunnel testing remains essential for obtaining the full range of data needed to guide detailed design decisions for many practical engineering problems. This long-awaited Third Edition of William H. Rae, Jr.'s landmark reference brings together essential information on all aspects of low-speed wind tunnel design, analysis, testing, and instrumentation in one easy-to-use resource. Written by authors who are among the most respected wind tunnel engineers in the world, this edition has been updated to address current topics and applications, and includes coverage of digital electronics, new instrumentation, video and photographic methods, pressure-sensitive paint, and liquid crystal-based measurement methods. The book is organized for quick access to topics of interest, and examines basic test techniques and objectives of modeling and testing aircraft designs in low-speed wind tunnels, as well as applications to fluid motion analysis, automobiles, marine vessels, buildings, bridges, and other structures subject to wind loading. Supplemented with real-world examples throughout, Low-Speed Wind Tunnel Testing, Third Edition is an indispensable resource for aerospace engineering students and professionals, engineers and researchers in the automotive industries, wind tunnel designers, architects, and others who need to get the most from low-speed wind tunnel technology and experiments in their work.