Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.

                                                                                                                                            —Albert Einstein

STOVL Test Facilities

The Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) facility is one of FCAAP’s two jet facilities. STOVL provides a means to study both free jet and impinging jet flow physics through the use of several optical diagnostic techniques including Schlieren photography, Particle Image Velocimetry, Background Oriented Schlieren and Pressure Sensitive Paints. Various configurations can be tested with a Mach number range of 0.5 – 2.2 with geometries ranging from conical to elliptic, rectangular and chevron nozzles. In addition, by using a 192 kW inline electric heater, the stagnation temperature can be raised to nearly 1000°F to study the effects of temperature. With the addition of a secondary, independently controlled pressure supply line, the facility’s capabilities expand to include twin nozzle configurations, co-flow, and the interaction of cold and hot streams. The primary focus of the facility is to improve current knowledge in an effort to effectively and intelligently design and test control devices aimed at reducing high noise levels associated with free and impinging high speed jets.