PSC Crane & Rigging assembles NASA’s new wind tunnel

The PSC team designed and built a custom halo rigging frame to pick the interior test cell structure and lower it down through the building and into position.

Designed to support human exploration and science missions returning from the moon and Mars, the Flight Dynamics Research Facility in Hampton, Virginia, USA, has a 120-foot (37 meter) vertical wind tunnel at its core.

The facility is designed to advance research and technology development for a range of NASA missions including aeronautics, space exploration and scientific endeavors, and its mission includes the eventual exploration of Venus and Titan, Saturn’s moon.

Located at NASA’s Langley Research Center, the wind tunnel was lifted into place by crews from PSC Crane & Rigging, using two of Modulift’s MOD 50 spreader beams to create a 4-point lift.

“Our scope of work was to supply manpower, equipment and technical know-how to assemble all the wind tunnel equipment,” said PSC Senior Estimating Manager Adam DeBrosse. “This included large fan assemblies, turning vane assemblies (for directing the air flow), flow screens, interior test cell and also supporting equipment within the test area.”

For the contraction cone, PSC crews offloaded assembled on site, validated that the interior flow surface was smooth and within tolerance, secured the assembly, hoisted, set in place, aligned and anchored.

Multiple lifts

The project involved some 100 lifts, including test picks to assure crew safety and the well-being of the costly and fragile equipment. The centerpiece of the lifting tasks was that of the contraction cone, which required a test pick that was called off due to building tolerances. The piece was trimmed and reset the same day.

The PSC team used a Liebherr LR1300SX crawler rigged with 95 feet of main boom and 125 feet of luffing jib. The weight of the contraction cone was 70,000 pounds. This section was rigged with two 20-foot long Modulift 50 spreader beams along with four polyester round slings for top rigging and four polyester round slings for bottom rigging.

“The challenges of the project as a whole were that the precast concrete building and the wind tunnel equipment assembly/installation had to be ‘timed’ so that the wind tunnel equipment could be ready to install at key hold points in the pre cast erection, any delays by either party would plunge the other into downtime and delay,” DeBrosse said. “Any deviation in tolerance would cause critical pieces to not easily be placed. Key structural members of the precast had to be left uncompleted until wind tunnel equipment was placed then additional members could be installed.”

DeBrosse said the wind tunnel equipment was cold build sourced from suppliers around the globe without any preassembly prior to install. All fit and finish modifications had to be engineered and completed as they arose during this shared install window.

The lift for the contraction cone was rigged with two 20-foot long Modulift MOD 50 spreader beams and four polyester round slings for top rigging and bottom rigging.

“Solutions had to be field managed while still being vetted and approved by the NASA construction team,” he said. “Wind tunnel equipment such as the interior test cell was to be installed as a stick built service of panels, but to buy back time in the sequence, it was built as a single 12-sided panel polygon. The interior test cell structure was not intrinsically designed to lift as one piece.”

Custom halo rigging

PSC’s rigging team calculated the loads being applied by the lifting points on the test cell, DeBrosse explained. The PSC team designed and built a custom halo rigging frame to pick the structure and lower it down through the building and into position.

The deployment of Modulift spreader beams in the construction of the NASA research facility shines a light on the lifting equipment used in pioneering projects such as this, according to Modulift Managing Director Sarah Spivey.

PSC Crane & Rigging used a Liebherr LR1300SX crawler rigged with 95 feet of main boom and 125 feet of luffing jib. The contraction cone weighed 70,000 pounds.

“Modulift is known for its iconic yellow spreader beams across the world, and has set the precedent for safety, efficiency and fast delivery in the global lifting industry,” she said. “We are very proud to be part of this groundbreaking project.”

Since the late 1930s, NASA researchers have used a 12-foot low speed tunnel and vertical spin tunnel. The new FDRF facility will have significantly greater capability than the two existing tunnels, while greatly reducing maintenance and operating costs. The research facility will enable NASA and industry partners to study the flow of air travelling around aerospace vehicles.

“What we’re going to do with this facility is literally change the world,” said Clayton Turner, director of NASA Langley Research Center. “The humble spirit of our researchers and this effort will allow us to reach for new heights, to reveal the unknown, for the betterment of humankind.”

Founded in 1933 by Earl Sever, Sr., PSC Crane & Rigging is based in Piqua, Ohio, USA. Founded in 2002, Modulift is based in Dorset, United Kingdom.