The power of a racecar in the volume of a cookie jar – German-Dutch Wind Tunnels (DNW) is proud to announce that experimental testing of our Electrically Powered engine Simulator (EPS) is scheduled for the end of this year.
350 kilowatts (469 hp) of power packed inside a volume of less than 3 liters, 30.000 RPM, a titanium fan and a 900V drive. This is what it takes to scale ultra-high bypass ratio turbofan engines of the future and German-Dutch Wind Tunnels is ready for it.
The Electrically Powered engine Simulator (EPS) demonstration project was conceived at DNW to assess and demonstrate the viability of highly compact electric drives for engine simulation and to complement traditional compressed-air-turbine drives. Parent institutes DLR and Royal NLR soon joined the project. The joining of forces of DNW, DLR and NLR brought together expertise in wind tunnel testing techniques, aero-acoustic fan stage design, geometry design, CFD modelling and high-performance engineering and once again exemplified the power of such joint-efforts.
German-Dutch Wind Tunnels has successfully used high power-density electric drivers in its wind tunnel tests before, in models where the use of compressed-air infrastructure was not straightforward. The EPS-unit is our first unit with a record 125 kW/liter power density. The UHBR model is fully aero-acoustically scaled and includes bypass and core i.e. dual duct flow representation.
Our engineers implemented methods to fully suppress EMI and enable measurement of microvolt signal levels (strain gauges, pressure sensors, microphones, etc.) in close proximity to power-electronic systems outputting hundreds of kilowatts.
After thorough testing at our HQ in Marknesse, the EPS’s ‘maiden flight’ will take place in one of our German facilities. In that particular wind tunnel test campaign, it will serve as an engine platform for a geometrically and acoustically highly optimised passenger aircraft platform.
Please contact us to see how we can serve your needs in wind tunnel testing. Our engineers will be happy to assist and advise to get the best results.