Reverberation Acoustic Laboratory

High Intensity Acoustic Test

The reverberation acoustic chamber is used to simulate the launch process, where tremendous amount of noise generated  in the exhaust plume flowing from the nozzle as the launch vehicle lifts off. The exhaust gas velocity can be as high as 10,000 feet per second, where some of the acoustic energy reflects off the ground and propagates into the vehicle's nosecone. This energy is radiated as sound pressure into the internal volume of the nosecone, where the spacecraft is located in the launch vehicle. In this facility, the noise is generated using gaseous nitrogen coupled with noise producer to transform the kinetic energy of the gas into an acoustic waveform which is then directed into the chamber through specific horns.