1LT John Norden and SGT Brendan Johnson, Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, and 2LT Jonathon Reabe, Charlie Co., 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment, Arizona National Guard, endure the heat in Nuristan, Afghanistan, June 21, 2007. The Doriot Chambers reproduce environmental conditions that Soldiers face, such as heat, to research and develop better climate gear for deployed forces. (U.S. Army photo by SSG Isaac A. Graham.)

From Jan. 28 to Feb. 1, 2008, the Doriot Climatic Chambers at SSC, Natick, MA, got a workout that broadened the range of cold temperatures the chambers use during testing. The Doriot Climatic Chambers can reproduce environmental conditions occurring anywhere around the world. They can simulate temperature, humidity, wind, rainfall and solar radiation, and these conditions can be set up separately or run concurrently. The Army, which owns and operates this facility, uses it as part of SSC’s research and development mission, ensuring that gear being developed for Soldiers can survive the rigors of worldwide extreme climate conditions.

The Doriot Climatic Chambers are a unique testing facility, allowing the Army to conduct equipment and human-performance testing in a laboratory environment, where they can manage precise climatic conditions over extended periods of time. But this particular test was not being conducted for, nor was it funded by, the Army. This evaluation was paid for and conducted by ABB Inc., Mount Pleasant, PA, under a program that allows the military to lease its facilities to private sector companies. ABB Inc., a private electrical contractor, took advantage of this program to evaluate its equipment at temperature extremes in the Climatic Chambers Arctic Wind Tunnel.

The Arctic Wind Tunnel has the ability to create temperatures ranging from minus 70 F to 120 F with 10 to 90 percent relative humidity. Rain can be simulated at rates up to 4 inches per hour with wind up to 40 miles per hour (mph). “Last year the company [ABB] found out we had the capabilities they needed to do the testing,” said Joshua Bulotsky, electrical engineer. “We were able to do some testing for them at the extreme capabilities they needed last year, and although they got some good data, they needed more in order to finalize their design.”

Large high-voltage circuit breakers were the items that were put through the trials. Steve Ryan, AAB Manager, Total Quality, said people often take circuit breakers for granted. They are items you don’t usually see because they are often located in substations or remote areas. However, if the gas gets too cold in the breakers, the breakers go into lockout operation and can’t be opened until they warm up again. This could shut down power for an entire section of a city. “These items would be used in extreme cold weather areas, such as Northern China, Canada, anywhere that the temperature would be below minus 50 degrees [F] and have winds,” said Ryan.

Jason Stull, ABB Development Engineer, said, “The benefit of doing this type of test here [in the Climatic Chambers] is the wind application. You can simulate cold with gas, but SSC is one of the few places that also has wind. Wind has a big impact on performance.” Testing was done from zero to minus 45 F and from zero to minus 78 F, ultimately making it the coldest temperature that the Arctic Wind Tunnel has ever been. The wind speeds ranged from 3 to 35 mph.

A monitor shows the temperature in the Arctic Wind Tunnel in the Doriot Climatic Chambers at SSC, Natick, MA. During recent testing, the chamber reached a new low of minus 78 F. (Photo courtesy of SSC.)

“This type of testing allows us to further exhibit the reliability of the product,” said Ryan. “This year we did modifications to adjust the power supply. We used a different heating and insulation package.” ABB needed to see what impact these changes would have in extreme environments. “They needed to see where there might be problems and try to resolve them,” added Bulotsky.

Within the past year, new mechanical equipment has been installed in the chambers, along with updated computer control systems in the Arctic Wind Tunnel monitoring room and even new flat-screen TVs to display graphics. This year the chambers have been performing even better than before because of the new mechanical equipment and upgrades. As a result, the researchers from ABB collected a significant amount of solid data by the 4th day of their 5-day test. The 5th day almost became a bonus day.

Ryan and Stull both described the personnel at SSC as extremely professional and helpful. “Whatever we wanted, within the limitations of the equipment, we got,” said Stull, “even if it was late nights or early mornings.”

The Doriot Climatic Chambers also have a Tropic Wind Tunnel, which has the ability to create temperatures ranging from 0 to 165 F with 10 to 90 percent relative humidity. Rain can be simulated at up to 4 inches per hour with wind up to 40 mph. Solar load can be simulated with a system consisting of six rows of 250-watt light bulbs.

Because of law 10 U.S.C. 2539b, the SSC now offers testing services to private industry such as ABB. And because SSC is a government research, development and engineering center, no profit is earned on testing services. Therefore, private companies can evaluate products in the chamber’s unique testing facilities for low cost, with highly rated and experienced staff available, along with state-of-the-art equipment.

For more information or to inquire about using the chambers for an upcoming project, please e-mail nati-amsrd-nsc-ad-b@conus.army.mil.

Article courtesy of the Natick SSC Public Affairs Office.