GRADUATE AEROSPACE LABORATORIES
California Institute of Technology
Division of Engineering and Applied Science
1200 E. California Boulevard, MS 105-50, Pasadena, CA 91125

Historical
AWT construction
Ten-Foot Tunnel

AWT Construction
Beginnings
Preparations
Test Section
First Wave
Second Wave
Fan
Test Section Walls
Exteriors
Interiors

Lucas AWT Construction

Tunnel Room Preparation

The room used for the Lucas AWT is roughly 90' long, 30' wide and two stories high, located on the basement and sub-basement levels of the Guggenheim building.  This part of the building formerly housed the lower leg of the Ten-Foot Tunnel, including the fan section and the motor-generator set.  During the Guggenheim renovation, this room was taken down to a dirt floor, which was re-graded and covered with 6" of concrete

For later assembly and operation of the tunnel, two overhead crane systems were installed.  A two-axis, one-ton gantry crane was installed over the test section side of the room, and a simple I-beam for a trolley and chain hoist were installed over the axis of the settling chamber and flow control stack.  The gantry crane can also support a 2-ton chain hoist at each end of the bridge truss.  Installation of the cranes on the two-story-high ceiling required that a scaffold be built that covered most of the floor area in the room.

Click on images to enlarge.

 

Scaffolding fills nearly the entire room for installation of a gantry crane over the test section, and hoist beam over settling chamber (out of picture to right).	View underneath the scaffolding. Note the top and bottom parts of the test section awaiting assembly.