A crucial step in the country’s journey towards Atmanirbhar Bharat has been achieved with India’s first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility successfully established and tested by Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK). This is a major achievement that puts India amongst a handful of countries with this advanced hypersonic testing capability.
The development of the facility was supported by the Fund for Improvement in S&T Infrastructure (FIST) of the Department of Science & Technology (DST) with a sum of Rs 4.5 Crores in 2018.
The facility was developed by the Hypersonic Experimental Aerodynamics Laboratory at the Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Kanpur and is capable of generating flight speeds between 3-10 km/s, simulating the hypersonic condition. Named S2, it was indigenously designed and developed and is a valuable test facility for ongoing missions of ISRO and DRDO including Gaganyaan, RLV and hypersonic cruise missiles.
The facility consists of 4 major sections–free piston driver, compression tube, shock /acceleration tube and test section with high vacuum system for generating and sustaining the hypersonic flow. The complete instrumentation of the facility; pressure sensors and associated equipment/instruments for acquiring and processing the data and the vacuum system with test section and associated instrumentation was acquired through the DST- FIST program.
Hypersonic research activities are fast growing in India and the implementation of Hypersonic Test Facility in India will enable more aerospace engineers and researchers to pursue hypersonic research. The research activities and data generated in the facility will serve as an input for optimization of existing vehicles as well as futuristic defense and Space Missions.
Establishment of such facility will position India globally for advanced experimental hypersonic research. It is a major capacity boost for India’s space and defense sectors and puts India in a better position to develop advanced hypersonic technologies and systems fast-forwarding the Hon’ble PM’s dream of a scientifically advanced nation.
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