CAe are proud to have completed and delivered, this week, the new Acoustic Liner section to the Aircraft Research Association (ARA). A more unusual job for CAe, the project to upgrade the acoustic liner section utilised the expertise across the company for design, stressing, manufacture and assembly.

The acoustic liner section which forms part of the Transonic Wind Tunnel (TWT) facility at ARA was originally commisioned in the 1980s and was used for low speed high lift and transonic propellor acoustic testing. With the growing demand for acoustic testing, ARA, funded through BIS, commisioned CAe to undertake a major mechanical upgrade of the liner section to provide improved acoustic performance and to incorporate extensive acoustic measurement arrays.

It became clear that in order to meet the defined requirements, very little of the original liner could be re-used and, working closely with ARA, CAe redesigned the liner section to provide a much improved section, with clean and flush walls, two sets of 144 flush fitting micorphone mounts, new lighting and cameras. The assembly work was undertaken in the hangar here at Cranfield with the completed liner shipped out on 8th July 2014.

Completed liner ready for shipping
Acoustic array ready for microphones