Sen. Burns observes wind tunnel test at the Mike Mansfield Advance Technology Center, a part of MSE Technology Applications in Butte’s Industrial Park.

U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., was witness to a test of the Mariah II hypersonic wind tunnel in Butte Monday, noting that today’s research is building jobs for Montanans tomorrow.

The pressure test blew a dime-size hole in a CD-sized piece of steel at the Mike Mansfield Advance Technology Center, a part of MSE Technology Applications in Butte’s Industrial Park. It took about 30,000 pounds of pressure per square inch to create the hole.

By Gerard O’Brien of the Montana Standard

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2004/02/17/newsbutte_top/hjjfjhicjcgbii.txt

"This facility has a double edge," Burns told about 50 technicians and staff gathered at the test. "It will be used to test materials for flight, for aerospace. And it will be research for the next generation."

Burns was in Butte visiting school children about NASA and space exploration.

"Space exploration can stimulate the child’s mind to learn math and science. We have opportunities here in Montana, using telecommunications, to reach the kid in Jordan, Montana, who wants to learn this technology, as well as the student in urban areas."

The Mariah II program is the nation’s only research facility that is designed to develop the materials necessary to build the world’s first hypersonic wind tunnel. That large-scale tunnel will be used to test materials for space launch vehicles, global-reach aircraft and intercontinental missiles that can reach speeds up to Mach 15. The space shuttle, for example re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere at that speed and greater.

"Of course we’re hoping we build the big one here," remarked Ron Glovan, the lead metallurgist at the site who is also a Montana Tech grad and Anaconda native.

But for now, the "wind tunnel" is only 2.5 inches in diameter and about 3 feet long. It is the first step in a long process to reaching the full-scale model, which could cost up to $200 million.

The test facility is engineered to produce up to 300,000 psi, but last week it got to 150,000 psi and had a nozzle failure.

"That boom could be heard all over the plant," Glovan said. "But that’s what we’re testing; the materials for the pressure nozzle. That gas pressure creates incredible temperatures and when it fails, we look for other combinations of steel and other materials that can withstand that kind of heat."

There have been about 100 tests on the Butte model so far. While the center employs about 20 engineers and spends up to $4 million a year, there are many more craftsmen involved with developing the various components for the project. This year’s federal appropriation is close to $12 million, which will be used to expand the project and bring in more scientists to work on the project.

MSE is the lead contractor on the project with the support of Princeton University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Sverdrup Technology Corp. and Boeing Co.