The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) rig is a modular, blow-down wind tunnel with a variable Mach number (up to 1.6) with the working section of 500x200mm.) It is equipped with a range of hardware for detailed aerodynamics and heat transfer measurements. A cooling system that uses CO2 gas is installed. A large scale exhaust plenum allows a modular approach and a quick modification of the test section. It can be therefore used to investigate various high speed and heat transfer problems in the field of power generation and aerospace.
Currently it is used as a linear cascade to model the interface of the combustor and the high-pressure turbine of a gas turbine for power generation. Engine-realistic combustor flow conditions are achieved through cassettes with different swirl generators and turbulence grids that are inserted upstream of the transition ducts. A range of aerothermal and cooling studies have been performed on various geometries in order to investigate fundamental flow phenomena and to improve the current turbine design.