Commissioning of the T6 Stalker Tunnel

First commissioning results are presented from the new T6 tunnel — a multi-mode pulse facility for high-enthalpy hypersonic research at the University of Oxford. A brief summary of the history of these facilities and a description of the current arrangement is provided. Re-commissioning tests of the modified T3 free piston driver section are then presented, for which it was found that a single set of model parameters could adequately match experimental data for all conditions. Preliminary results of wall pressure and heat flux measurements from the commissioning shots in shock tube mode are then given and comparisons made to numerical predictions of facility performance. Finally, results from a Pitot rake mounted in the test section are presented and discussed.