Advanced Turboprop Model in the 8- by 6-Foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel

NASA Lewis Research Center researcher, John S. Sarafini, uses a laser doppler velocimeter to analyze a Hamilton Standard SR-2 turboprop design in the 8- by 6-Foot foot Supersonic Wind Tunnel. Lewis researchers were analyzing a series of eight-bladed propellers in their wind tunnels to determine their operating characteristics at speeds up to Mach 0.8. The program, which became the Advanced Turboprop (ATP), was part of a NASA-wide Aircraft Energy Efficiency Program undertaken to reduce aircraft fuel costs by 50 percent. The ATP concept was different from the turboprops in use in the 1950s. The modern versions had at least eight blades and were swept back for better performance.

Bell Laboratories developed the laser doppler velocimeter technology in the 1960s to measure velocity of transparent fluid flows or vibration motion on reflective surfaces. Lewis researchers modified the device to measure the flow field of turboprop configurations in the transonic speed region. The modifications were necessary to overcome the turboprop’s vibration and noise levels. The laser beam was split into two beams which were crossed at a specific point. This permits researchers to measure two velocity components simultaneously. This data measures speeds both ahead and behind the propeller blades. Researchers could use this information as they sought to advance flow fields and to verify computer modeling codes.