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Posted by Editor on 7th January 2012 at 07:39 PM
More Than 50 Years of Cooperation with Research
For 55 years the NATO countries have subsidized the Von Karman Institute. This institute has unique world facilities for applied aeronautics and aerospace research.

Shotlist:
-VOICEOVER- (LAETITIA CHADENAT)

This tunnel can reproduce the velocity and altitude conditions affecting a fighter aircraft. It can even reach 14 times the speed of sound. Here in Belgium we can investigate what a spacecraft undergoes on earth and even in space.

 SOUNDBITE- (Jean MUYLAERT: Director,von Karman Institute)
« Il y a un piston qui comprime l'écoulement. Dans les conditions pour Mars on utilise le CO2. Pour simuler les rentrées terrestres on utilise de l'air. La particularité de cette soufflerie est qu'elle est de très courte durée. On parle d'une fraction de seconde. On peut effectivement faire des mesures de pression, de flux, des efforts et des moments sur des maquettes »

"A piston compresses the flow. For Mars conditions we use CO2. To simulate the return to earth it is air. The special thing about this wind tunnel is that it works for a very short time. We are talking about a fraction of a second, and during this period we can actually take measurements of pressure, flow, forces and moments on models."

-VOICEOVER- (LAETITIA CHADENAT)

At the von Karman Institute in Brussels researchers study certain scientific phenomena and their aeronautics and aerospace applications. For example, they may consider the resistance of an aircraft wing to velocity and heat. They put forward solutions to problems. Their results are used by firms which can then improve their technologies.

- SOUNDBITE- (Jean MUYLAERT: Director, von Karman Institute)

« On sert les deux domaines aussi bien le civil que le militaire. On appelle ça dual duel donc on étudie les modèles physiques qui sont applicables aussi bien pour les militaires : les avions à haute vitesse, les rentrées d'air mais aussi le civil : les transports, la rentrée, le spatial. »

"We serve the two areas, both the civil and military. We call this dual, so we study physical models that are applicable both for the military and civil sides – high-speed aircraft, air intakes, but also transport, re-entry, space applications."

VOICEOVER- (LAETITIA CHADENAT)

So the von Karman Institute is a concentration of grey cells working full out. It has existed for 55 years, and is partly financed by the NATO nations.
The researchers base their work on results developed by computer, but above all they use 50 advanced installations to validate the tests. An indispensable stage, making it possible for example to send a rocket into space in full confidence..
This particular equipment is the plasmatron. It is the only one of its kind, and can generate heat to reach 10,000 degrees Celsius.

-SOUNDBITE- (Olivier CHAZOT, researcher)

« C'est une installation de plasma qui permet de simuler les conditions de réentrée, les conditions à très haute vitesse quand on approche une planète, quand on rentre dans l'atmosphère d'une planète »
« On rentre dans l'atmosphère à peu près à 100 km d'altitude. On va commencer à plonger dans l'atmosphère et puis on va être ralenti parce que la couche devient de plus en plus dense. Et quand on ralentit ça va chauffer. On a une onde de choc devant et après l'onde de choc l'air devient très chaud. »

"This is a plasma installation which simulates conditions on re-entry, the conditions at very high speed approaching a planet, when you enter the planet's atmosphere."
"You re-enter the atmosphere at about 100 km altitude. You start to dive into the atmosphere and then you are slowed down as the layers get denser. And as you slow things heat up. There's a shock wave in front and after the shock wave the air gets very hot."

-VOICEOVER- (LAETITIA CHADENAT)

And to understand how a material reacts to such heat, the researchers place it inside the installation.

A little further on, young scientists are studying the effects of the laser on the flows.
For, each year, the Institute hosts students from NATO countries who come to receive training and do research.
Sergio for example is Italian. He is 30, and pursuing his turbine engineering thesis at the Institute. Like more than 50 other students he is following courses given by the establishment. This working environment is good for his professional development.

-SOUNDBITE- (Sergio LAVALOGNI, research student)

"I believe that working in this place is really rewarding because you have the opportunity to perform the research at high level. At the same time you have the opportunity to work with younger searchers but also with experts, professors who can lead your research and I feel that I have the possibility to propose my ideas and experiment what I feel can be an improvement to my research. I have the opportunity to access a high quality teaching and working at the same time in an international environment with people from all NATO countries."

« Je pense que travailler ici est vraiment gratifiant car vous avez la possibilité d'effectuer des recherches de haut niveau. En même temps, vous avez la possibilité de travailler avec de jeunes chercheurs mais aussi avec des experts, des professeurs qui supervisent vos recherches. J'ai le sentiment de pouvoir proposer mes idées et pratiquer les tests qu i, je pense, pourront améliorer mes recherches. J'ai l'opportunité d'accéder à un enseignement de haut niveau et de travailler en même temps dans un environnement international avec des personnes de tous les pays de l'OTAN »

VOICEOVER- (LAETITIA CHADENAT)

So the aim is to cooperate, to share ideas and knowledge and advance research in the field of fluid dynamics.
This covers all phenomena bound up with the forces of wind and water which can act on components.
Research which represents a real investment for the future.

Laetitia Chadenat for Natochannel in Brussels

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