physics

McKinley Climatic Laboratory

McKinley Climatic Laboratory is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand McKinley Climatic Laboratory rather than just read about it. In short: The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing.

Key takeaways

McKinley Climatic Laboratory belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect McKinley Climatic Laboratory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of McKinley Climatic Laboratory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing. In addition to Air Force testing, it can be used by other US government agencies and private industry. On October 6, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The laboratory was named a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1987.

History In 1940, the US Army Air Force designated Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska as a cold-weather testing facility. Because sufficiently cold weather was not predictable and often of short duration, Ashley McKinley suggested a refrigerated airplane hangar be built. The facilities were constructed at Eglin Field. The first tests started in May 1947. Airplanes that were tested included the B-29 Superfortress, C-82 Packet, P-47 Thunderbolt, P-51 Mustang, P-80 Shooting Star, and the Sikorsky H-5D helicopter. More recently, it has tested the C-5 Galaxy, the F-117, the F-22, the Boeing 787, and the Airbus A350 XWB. On 12 June 1971, the hangar was dedicated as the McKinley Climatic Hangar in honor of Col. Ashley McKinley, who suggested the facility and served at Eglin during its construction.

Buildings The Building 440 is an insulated, refrigerated hangar. There is an office and instrumentation building, a cold-weather engine test cell, the refrigeration system, mechanical-draft cooling towers, and a steam-heating plant. The main chamber is 252 feet (77 m) wide, 201 feet (61 m) deep, and 70 feet (21 m) tall at the center of the hangar. It was constructed to hold aircraft as large as a B-29, its size also fitting the larger Convair B-36 Peacemaker. In 1968, a 60 feet (18 m) by 85 feet (26 m) extension was added. It now has 55,000 square feet (5,100 m2) working area. This allows it to test aircraft as large as a C-5A. Under hot conditions, it can achieve 165 °F (74 °C). The All-Weather Room is 42 feet (13 m) by 22 feet (7 m). It has a temperature range from −80 °F (−62 °C) to 170 °F (77 °C). Rainfall can be as high as 15 inches (380 mm) per hour and the wind can be as high as 60 knots (31 m/s). Snow can be made in the chamber. The Temperature-Altitude Chamber is 13.5 feet (4.1 m) by 9.5 feet (2.9 m) with a height of 6.9 feet (2.1 m). Altitudes up to 80,000 feet (24 km) can be simulated. The temperature range is −80 °F (−62 °C) to 140 °F (60 °C). The engine test cell was originally used for aircraft engines. It was about 130 feet (40 m) by 30 feet (9 m) with a height of 25 feet (8 m). It is now called the Equipment Test Chamber and is used mainly for tanks, trucks, and other equipment. The original building had small tests rooms for desert, hot, marine, and jungle conditions. These have been eliminated. The original floor of the building was constructed of reinforced-concrete slabs that were 12 inches (30 cm) thick and 12.5 feet (3.8 m) square. The slabs rested on 13 inches (33 cm) of cellular glass blocks over reinforced concrete. In 1990, much of this floor was replaced with 25 feet (7.6 m) square slabs. The walls and door are insulated with 13 inches (33 cm) of glass-wool board sheathed in galvanized steel. To seal the doors, they are pulled against foam rubber seals. The ceiling insulation is on a corrugated steel deck, which is suspended from the roof trusses by chains.

Refrigeration system

The original coolant was R-12 refrigerant. Liquid refrigerant is held in a low-pressure surge tank. The pressure in this tank is maintained at the saturation pressure for the desired temperature for the cooling coils. Vapor from this tank is compressed to a gage pressure of 20 psi (138 kPa) by the first-stage compressor. The compressed vapor is expanded into an intermediate, desuperheater tank. Liquid condensed in this expansion is drained back to the surge tank. The remaining vapor is compressed in a high-stage compressor to a gage pressure of about 150 psi (1 MPa). Heat is transferred from the hot vapor to cooling water. Any condensed liquid is returned to the intermediate tank, the surge tank, or the supply tank. Liquid refrigerant from the surge tank is pumped through the cooling coils at sufficient pressure to avoid vaporization. Warmed liquid is returned to the surge tank. As its pressure is reduced, a portion of this liquid will flash into vapor. There are three such refrigeration systems. Each low-stage compressor is powered by a 1,000 horsepower (746 kW) motor and each high-stage compressor is powered by a 1,250 horsepower (932 kW) motor. The system was built by York Corporation. The original motors were Allis-Chalmers induction motors. They have been replaced by variable frequency, synchronous motors manufactured by EMICC that operate between 350 and 1800 rpm. Recent efforts have been made to change from ozone-depleting refrigerants. For engine tests, there is need for makeup air. The system originally could cool 200 pounds (91 kg) per second of humid air. In 1966, this was increased to 450 pounds (204 kg) per second. Air is also cooled by a two-stage heat exchanger. The first stage uses 110,000 US gallons (416 m3) of 20% calcium chloride brine pre-cooled to 24 °F (−4 °C). The second stage uses 137,500 US gallons (520 m3) of methylene chloride pre-cooled to −97 °F (−72 °C). This can cool 450 pounds (204 kg) per second of humid air from 80 °F (27 °C) to −65 °F (−54 °C) for 40 minutes.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with McKinley Climatic Laboratory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what McKinley Climatic Laboratory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to McKinley Climatic Laboratory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about McKinley Climatic Laboratory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of McKinley Climatic Laboratory

In research: McKinley Climatic Laboratory appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses McKinley Climatic Laboratory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: McKinley Climatic Laboratory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1944 establishments in Florida, Buildings and structures in Okaloosa County, Florida, Environmental testing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for McKinley Climatic Laboratory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study McKinley Climatic Laboratory in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what McKinley Climatic Laboratory means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain McKinley Climatic Laboratory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is McKinley Climatic Laboratory in simple terms?

The McKinley Climatic Laboratory is both an active laboratory and a historic site located in Building 440 on Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The laboratory is part of the 96th Test Wing.

Why does McKinley Climatic Laboratory matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study McKinley Climatic Laboratory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on McKinley Climatic Laboratory.