On Thursday the 25th of June 2015, the French-German Research Institute of Saint-Louis inaugurated its new trisonic wind tunnel.
Due to its technical characteristics, the new wind tunnel is an exceptional scientific facility in the region. The wind speed can be varied from Mach 0.5, which corresponds to the speed of a train, to Mach 4.5, i.e. more than 5 500 km/h. The new facility is therefore particularly suitable for testing reduced-scale objects or objects of moderate full-scale size such as missiles and artillery shells. Thanks to the three functioning modes (subsonic, transonic, and supersonic), projectiles can be tested in varying conditions in the test section of 30cm x 40cm during blow-down tests of up to 60 seconds. Hence, the novel ISL wind tunnel is of great interest to ISL since it allows to address the ISL’s specific needs and to conduct tests at lower costs. Industrial partners and other research institutes have already expressed their interest to use this windtunnel for their tests.
The ISL new trisonic wind tunnel was built up within two years at a cost of less than 5 M€, which is considerably lower than the initial budget forecast of 5,7 M€. The new facility is fully operational henceforth and will be open to industrial use by September 2015.
During the inauguration, Dominique Chargelègue, director of the division "Flight Techniques for Projectiles" was made “Knight of French National Order of Merit”, in the presence of the Executive Board, political representatives , manufacturers and the employees who contributed to the success of the project.
