IIT Kanpur gave Hyper Velocity Expansion Tunnel to the Country

Utkarsh Classes Last Updated 07-02-2025

IIT Kanpur gave Hyper Velocity Expansion Tunnel to the Country

Science 4 min read

IIT Kanpur has developed and successfully tested the country's first Hyper Velocity Expansion Tunnel Test Facility. With this technical facility developed by IIT Kanpur, hypersonic cruise missiles can be prepared for precise targeting.

Uses in various projects of ISRO and DRDO:

It will be used in Gaganyaan, RLV as well as in various research and projects of ISRO and DRDO.
Currently only a few countries in the world have this facility.
The 24 meter long tunnel established in IIT Kanpur has been called Jigarthanda (S-2).

India's first Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel facility:

This is India's first Hyper Velocity Expansion Tunnel facility, designed by Associate Professor Ibrahim Sugarno and his team at the institute.
According to IIT Director S Ganesh, it has been set up in the Hypersonic Experimental Aerodynamics Lab of the institute's Department of Aerospace Engineering.

With whose help was the Hypervelocity Expansion Tunnel facility ready?

It has been prepared with the help of Aeronautical Research and Development Board (ARDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST) and IITs.
It took three years to prepare its indigenous design.

Helpful in giving more speed to hypersonic cruise missile:

With this test facility, it will be easier to prepare future hypersonic cruise missiles or rocket launcher vehicles to give accurate results at high speed conditions.
This is an achievement that is going to create new standards for hyper velocity research. In the future, India's capabilities in space and defense sectors will develop rapidly.

Atmospheric conditions in the test tunnel:

The construction of Jigarthanda i.e. S-2 has been very challenging.
The 'Free Piston Driver' system has been prepared in the tunnel ready for testing. In this, it is fired at a speed of 150-200 meters per second at atmospheric high pressure of 20-35 atm and is brought to a complete stop without any deadlock.
Hypersonic cruise missiles or Gaganyaan have to pass through this condition in the atmosphere. Therefore, similar conditions have been created in the test tunnel.

Study of Hypersonic Conditions:

With the help of this test facility, atmospheric entry of rocket launcher vehicles, asteroid entry, scramjet flights can be studied. Also, through this, hypersonic conditions encountered during ballistic missiles can be studied. This will make it possible to reach new conclusions.
Flight speeds between 3-10 km per second can be achieved in the tunnel.
How an aircraft or missile behaves at hypersonic speeds, which design reacts in which way. Its successful testing will be done in the tunnel.