Design and Characterization of a High-Enthalpy Hypersonic Wind Tunnel: The HyperReact Facility

In this work, the design and characterization of the University of Central Florida’s High- Enthalpy Hypersonic Reacting Facility, or HyperReact, is described. HyperReact is a vitiated, blowdown, direct-connect wind tunnel capable of operating at extreme stagnation pressures and enthalpies, and can be configured to produce a wide range of flow speeds and test times. The facility is designed to interface smoothly with a range of modular test sections, allowing for the use of different laser and optical diagnostic systems. Such an adaptable design enables investigation of a plethora of phenomena at supersonic and hypersonic speeds. This work is structured to sequentially describe the design and performance specifications of each major component in the facility and present the results of a characterization campaign.