Aerodynamic and Acoustic Performance Testing of Metal Spacecraft Cabin Ventilation Fan

A metal spacecraft cabin ventilation fan suitable for aerodynamic and acoustic ground tests was designed and two copies of the fan assembly were fabricated. Both fans were tested for aerodynamic performance and acoustic levels in the NASA Glenn Research Center Acoustical Testing Laboratory. A new test rig for small axial flow fans was designed to accommodate the instrumentation and back-pressure adjustments. Measurements included were: static pressures for measuring performance, a 72-channel in-duct microphone array, external microphone measurements for acoustics, and inter-stage hot wire measurements of the fan wake. The present report documents the test setup. A series of follow on reports documents the results. These fan units, the data and the test facility described herein are valuable resources available for supporting NASA’s aeronautics research and space exploration missions.