Purdue opens new hypersonic research facility
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The Purdue Applied Research Institute is marking the opening of the $41 million Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility, or HARF. The 65,000-square-foot facility is home to two wind tunnels, including the only Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel in the world.
Plans for HARF were first announced in July 2021. The facility is also home to the Hypersonics Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center, which the university said creates a single location for industry partners to work on materials and manufacturing innovations, as well as have testing capabilities.
“The Hypersonic Applied Research Facility is an investment in test and evaluation and research capabilities that this country desperately needs,” Mark Lewis, CEO for PARI, said in a news release. “Through facilities such as HARF, we will help solve some of the most challenging and relevant problems in the field of high-speed flight while also building the future workforce.”
Purdue officials held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday.
In addition to the Mach 8 quiet wind tunnel, HARF also features a hypersonic pulse, or HYPULSE, reflected shock/expansion tunnel, which uses a shock wave of high-temperature air to recreate specific hypersonic flight conditions at speeds ranging from Mach 5 to as high as Mach 40.
Purdue becomes only the second university in the U.S. to offer HYPULSE test capabilities.
The university said hypersonic systems, which can travel more than five times the speed of sound, are a top priority for the U.S. Department of Defense.
“Flying is part of our Boilermaker DNA, whether three feet above our heads with an autonomous drone or all the way to the moon, and in near space, too,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “This is a particularly transformational moment with the opening of HARF, and we are reaffirming here today our unwavering commitment to hypersonic research, testing and talent development for the United States.”
The facility is located inside Purdue’s Discovery Park District.