The McKinley Climatic Laboratory (MCL) produces global environmental climatic testing conditions so that the United States Air Force and other agencies of the Department of Defense (DoD) may best develop weapons and weapon support systems as required by DoD Directive 5000.3, “Test and Evaluation”, and other applicable directives. The environmental conditions achieved in the Climatic Laboratory range from the extremes of windswept arid deserts to the cold northern regions, and include extreme high and low temperature, sand, dust, wind, rain, snow, salt spray, solar radiation, freezing rain, icing, high altitude, rapid decompression, and high humidity. Detailed information may be obtained by contacting the McKinley Climatic Laboratory, DSN 872-4601/4610, Commercial (850) 882-4601/4610
Originally built during World War II, the McKinley Climatic Laboratory now consists of five chambers and associated systems, and is the world’s largest environmental test complex containing the world’s largest environmental test chamber. The size and flexibility of the chambers and systems enable production of global environmental conditions and can be adapted to meet the majority of testing requirements. Two Air Makeup (AMU) systems can supply conditioned air in real time to enable the operation of aircraft engines inside the facility at temperatures ranging from -65℉ to 165℉.
The laboratory designs, manufactures, and installs test support hardware, devices, instrumentation, and data collection systems. Liaison and monitoring services for test personnel are also available.
Main Chamber
The Main Chamber is an insulated hangar, 250ft wide and 200ft deep. The maximum height in the center is 70ft, sloping to 35ft at the sides. The Main Chamber has an appendant floor area in the rear of the chamber that is 60ft deep x 85ft wide, with a ceiling height of 75ft. The total volume enclosed is approximately 3,300,000ft3, with 55,000ft2 of usable floor area.
The size of the Main Chamber allows testing of complete weapons and weapon support systems under a wide range of environmental conditions. The majority of MCL’s environmental testing capabilities can be performed in this chamber, and several tests may be conducted simultaneously, depending on the test items size and complexity.
Operational ground functions, including engine/craft/vehicle operation, armament testing, and support equipment testing, may be accomplished in this chamber. Environmental conditions can be applied to the test item during operational testing, and the conditions, setup, and application can be custom tailored for each customer. For a highlight of the Main Chamber specifications reference Table 1. This table is not inclusive of all environmental conditions and capabilities of this chamber.
Table 1: Main Chamber Specifications
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Main Chamber
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Specifications
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Size
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250ft wide x 200ft deep x 70ft high in center / 35ft high at sides
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Appendant
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85ft wide x 60ft deep x 75ft high
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Temperature Range
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165°F to -80°F
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Humidity Control
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5% to 100% with regulation to within +/- 10%
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Refrigeration System
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990 tons of refrigeration rated at -105°F
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Air Makeup
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- AMU1 and AMU2 can provide a combined 1,000lbmair/sec at -65°F for 1hr to the Main Chamber.
- Varying air flow, chamber temperature, and outside conditions will yield longer run times.
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Access to Main Chamber
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- Two main doors, each 125ft long, open one entire 250ft wall for access of larger equipment: maximum height for entry into the Main Chamber is 60ft.
- One vertical-lift door within main door is 14ft high and 50ft wide.
- One vertical-lift door in east appendant wall is 14ft x 14ft.
- An airlock is located on the South wall of the chamber is 10ft x 10ft and can allow support equipment into the chamber when conditioned.
- Seven personnel doors 3ft 6in x 7ft at various locations in the chamber allow for additional access.
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Exhaust Port Doors
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Two vertical doors 10ft x 10ft and two vertical doors 12ft 9in x 12ft 9in are available to be used to expel exhaust gases via exhaust ducting during engine operation.
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Underfloor Exhaust System
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An underfloor exhaust system is available to expel lower amounts of exhaust for systems that do not require the larger exhaust port doors.
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Pressure Equalization
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Two pressure relief doors are installed near the ceiling on either side of the appendant section in the Main Chamber to relieve negative and positive pressure surges created by engine and/or Air Makeup operation in order to protect chamber integrity. The pressure relief doors will begin to open at 1in water gauge and will be fully open at 3in water gauge.
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Tie-down Facilities
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Aircraft/equipment tie-down anchors are installed in the concrete floor.
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Icing Facilities
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Portable state-of-the-art equipment allows a flexible approach for the specific test requirement.
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Solar Radiation
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Solar radiation can be simulated with a coverage area of approximately 5,700ft2.
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Rain
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- A coverage area of approximately 2,200ft2 can be provided for rainfall varying from a fine mist to 24in/hr and greater. Coverage area and rainfall rate are inversely proportional and smaller items can receive higher rainfall rates.
- Spray rings can also be affixed to large fans to provide windblown rain at varying velocities.
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Control and Monitoring
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- An observation deck located on the South wall contains multiple windows that look down into the Main Chamber.
- Portable insulated control booths are also available for placement inside the chamber for easier access to test equipment.
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Equipment Test Chamber
The Equipment Test Chamber (ETC) is used primarily for environmental qualification of generators, vans, radars, and other small equipment. Engine testing can also be accomplished in this chamber.
Refrigeration for the ETC is supplied by the same 990 ton system that supplies the Main Chamber. However, because of its smaller size, the cooling rate is much faster and lower temperatures are possible. A temperature of -105 F has been reached in the ETC.
Table 2: Equipment Test Chamber Specifications
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Equipment Test Chamber
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Specifications:
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Size
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130ft long x 30ft wide x 25ft high
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Temperature Range
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165℉ to -105℉
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Humidity Control
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5% to 100% with regulation to within +/- 10%
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Air Makeup
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- AMU1 provides 500lbmair/sec at -65°F for 1hr to the ETC.
- Varying air flow, chamber temperature, and outside conditions will yield longer run times.
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Access to Chamber
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- An electrically operated door, 30ft wide x 25ft high, opens the entire south wall of the chamber.
- An airlock 22ft x 22ft square is located in the Southeast corner of the room that can allow support equipment into the chamber when conditioned.
- Three personnel doors 3ft 6in x 7ft provide additional access to the chamber.
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Tie-down Facilities
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Engine/equipment tie-down anchors are installed in the concrete floor.
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Control and Monitoring
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A control room with three larger observation windows is installed along the east wall.
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Salt Fog Chamber
The Salt Fog Chamber is detached from the main building and designed to provide testing conditions in accordance with applicable military specifications pertaining to highly corrosive environments such as coastal areas. This chamber can simulate the effects of years of exposure in a matter of days by saturating the chamber with a corrosive salt-mixture fog in accordance with MIL-STD 810.
Table 3: Salt Fog Chamber Specifications
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Salt Fog Chamber
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Specifications:
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Size
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54ft 8in long, 16ft wide, 16ft high
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Temperature Range
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Outside ambient temperature to 165℉
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Access to Chamber
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- Both ends of the chamber consist of a door 15ft x 15ft.
- One standard-size personnel door allows access to the chamber during conditioning.
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Sun, Wind, Rain and Dust (SWRD) Chamber
This facility is a separate unit located outside the main building. While this chamber has the ability to perform sun, wind, and rain testing, the smaller dimensions of this chamber typically drive customers to perform these tests in the other, larger chambers at MCL. Sand and dust testing are the most frequently conducted tests in this chamber. While sand testing can be conducted in the Main Chamber as well, the SWRD chamber is the only chamber that dust testing is conducted due to the hazardous environment created when the dust is airborne. A dust collector is provided to remove dust from the air. The air is reconditioned and returned to the chamber.
Table 4: SWRD Chamber Specifications
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SWRD
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Specifications:
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Size
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The inside of the building is 50ft x 50ft x 30ft high
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Temperature Range
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60℉ to 170℉
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Humidity Control
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15% to 100% with regulation to within +/- 15%
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Access to Chamber
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- A vertical lift door, 16ft x 16ft, is located on the North and South sides of the building.
- One standard personnel door is provided for access into the chamber while conditioned.
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Dust concentrations from 0.1g/m3 to 20g/m3 can be obtained. However, due to the enormous volume of the chamber, control of the dust concentration is approximately +/- 5g/m3.
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Altitude Chamber
The Altitude Chamber is located within the main Climatic Laboratory building. Its altitude capability enables rapid decompression testing that can be accomplished from 8,000ft cabin altitude to 40,000ft cabin altitude in seconds. The exact rate of decompression can be altered to reflect customer needs by modifying components of the chamber prior to atmospheric reduction.
Table 5: Altitude Chamber Specifications
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Altitude Chamber
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Specifications:
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Size
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- 13ft 6in long x 9ft 6in wide, and 7ft high
- The airlock is 9ft 6in wide and 4ft 4in long.
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Access to Chamber
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Door size for both airlock and chamber is 2ft 2in x 5ft 8in.
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Altitude Range
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Pressure can be reduced in the chamber to 80,000ft.
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Monitoring
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Six observation windows are provided.
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