Building 865 Hypersonic Wind Tunnel Power System Analysis

This report documents the characterization and analysis of a high current power supply for the building 865 Hypersonic Wind Tunnel at Sandia National Laboratories. The system described in this report became operational in 2013, replacing the original 1968 system which employed an induction voltage regulator. This analysis and testing was completed to help the parent organization understand why an updated and redesigned power system was not delivering adequate power to resistive heater elements in the HWT. This analysis led to an improved understanding of the design and operation of the revised 2013 power supply system and identifies several reasons the revised system failed to achieve the performance of the original power supply installation. Design modifications to improve the performance of this system are discussed.