Atmospheric Air Dryer Facility
Arnold Engineering Development Center - Arnold Air Force Base

Black & Veatch was retained to design and build an atmospheric air dryer facility that supplies dry air to the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility, an aerodynamic ground test facility. In order to simulate actual flight conditions and obtain accurate test data in the wind tunnels, moisture must be removed from the tunnel process air. This project includes constructing a dryer that will support all Propulsion Wind Tunnel (PWT) test requirements of the Air Force, Department of Defense (DOD), and other government agencies and industries. Since this facility must interface with existing systems, all planning and scheduling must be accomplished with the goal of minimizing the Propulsion Wind Tunnel (PWT) facility downtime while still meeting cost constraints and facility requirements.

The atmospheric air dryer facility uses three modes of operation: air drying, reactivation heating, and reactivation cooling. The air dryer is designed for a useful life of 40 years and is based on 150 cycles of operation per year.

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