The Propulsion Lab of the Aerospace Engineering Dept. of IIT Kanpur is well known for Research in the area of Propulsion and combustion. The lab has completed a number of sponsored and consultancy projects for different agencies.

The lab has all research level facilities. The lab is equipped with Low Speed Cascade Tunnel (30 cm x 38 cm) with variable speed upto 60 m/sec, Tunnel (7cm x 7 cm ) for LDA facility where jet mixing studies and flow visualization can be carried out. The lab also houses a 2- shaft Gas Turbine where Power, Torque, Pressure, Temperature measurement and cycle analysis can be performed. The Lab is equipped with a continuous combustion Unit where heat balance studies, exhaust gas composition, effect of fuel and flame stability test can be performed.Since the modern laboratory practices require automation, an on-line data acquisition on computers for all wind tunnel operation and measurement, new instruments, techniques and facilities are also being added to the lab.

S1

The test facility ‘S1’ nicknamed ‘Vaigai’ is the first in the series of Shock tunnel test facilities at IITK. The facility is multifaced; can be operated as shock tube/ Ludwieg tube/ shock tunnel, both in reflected as well as straight through mode. The test facility is 10 m long with 2m Driver, 6 m Driven and 2 m long dump tank assembly with test section. The facility generates Mach 4 and Mach 6 flow based on the nozzle throat insert, in the enthalpy range 0.3 – 1.8 MJ/kg, Reynolds number range 0.5 – 20 million/m, depending on the mode of operation and fill condition.

S2

The test facility ‘S2’ nicknamed ‘Jigarthanda’ is second in the series of Shock tunnel test facilities at IITK. The facility is a Free Piston driven type; can be operated as reflected shock tunnel or expansion tunnel. The facility consists of 6.5 m long and 225 mm compression tube, 65mm dia and 4.5 m shock tube and 8 m long acceleration tube opening into a diverging nozzle with exit dia of 200 mm. The free piston weighing 15kg is launched from a piston launcher supplied with required pressure from a reservoir. The test facility is designed to generate flow enthalpies ranging from 3 to 40 MJ/kg, simulating flight velocities ranging from 2.5 to 12 km/s depending on fill conditions.

S3

The facility ‘S3’ nicknamed ‘Honeybee’ is the third in the series of the facilities established at HEAL for Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics research. It’s a 15kW plasma torch facility capable of generating Argon, N2 and Air plasma with temperature ranging from 4000 – 6000 K.