Aero Rig Enclosure Test Facility

The Aero Rig Enclosure (ARE) is a test facility at GRC that enables independent control of Mach number and Reynolds number for an installed aerodynamic test article. A secondary flow supply system, which can inject mixtures from 100% air to 100% CO2, is available to the ARE. The ARE is an extremely flexible facility that allows for many different test article arrangements. While the most frequent application has been for unsteady interaction assessments of turbomachinery cascades through the use of GE Research's high-speed moving bar (HSMB) rig, the ARE facility is also capable of economic Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3 assessment of endwall features, such as squealer tips, endwall contouring, and cavity interactions. Measurement capabilities in the ARE include traditional pneumatic measurements (3D five hole probe traverses, static pressure taps), advanced visualization techniques (PIV), and thermal measurements (pressure sensitive paints for cooling effectiveness).