Research Facilities > Anechoic Chamber
Contact Information
General Research Facilities
- Anechoic Chamber
- Drafting & Design
- High Pressure Testing
- Instrumentation
- Machining
- Modeling
- Navigation
- Tunnels
Program-Specific Facilities
- Acoustics Research
- Acoustic Reverberant Tank
- Acoustic Test Tank
- Computing Services
- Environmental
- Imaging
- Lasers
- Materials
- Pump Loop Facility
- Nuclear
- Vehicle Test Range
The Applied Research
Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State University offers a wide range of technical
services to government agencies and industries involved in Communication
Systems Research, Development, Testing, Evaluation and Education (RDTE&E).
This chamber is one of the largest of its kind and is particularly well-suited for low frequency antenna characterization (100 Mhz), customized R&D, fabrication and full-scale system testing in a fully controlled environment for its customers, sponsors, and industrial partners to analyze the entire end-to-end design of a communication system.
Quiet Zone: 12 ft. diameter cylinder x 56 ft. long
Anechoic Chamber Description
- 100 ft long x 40 ft wide x 40 ft high
- Welded steel construction
- Shielded enclosure to provide -100 db isolation
- Designed for testing 100 MHz to 100 GHz
- 3 floors, 2,400 sq ft of climate controlled laboratory space
- 20x20 ft door provides large UAV, vehicle friendly access to the chamber.
Cut-away Illustration Showing Absorber Pattern, Control Rooms, and Scale Model on Sting
Chamber Applications
- Antenna Characterization
- RF Measurements requiring a reflection-free environment
- System level testing and Integration, end-to-end Analyses
- GPS, VHF/UHF/SAT COM, Cellular
- Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility (EMI/EMC)
- Radio Interoperability, Test and Evaluation
- Software Defined Radio
- Antenna installation & location studies on:
* Aircraft, Ships, Vehicles - scale, partial, and full scale mockups
* UAV - scale and full size
Expertise is Available in the Following Specialties:
- Tactical Data Links
- Antenna and Radar Cross Section (RCS)
- Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility (EMI/EMC)
- Mobile Communication Systems
- Ground Based Communication System
- Hand-held Radios
- Radio Frequency Interference (RFI)
- Satellite Based Communication Links
- Antenna Characterization
- High Bandwidth Data Transmission
- Wireless Networking
Penn State is a multi-campus
public research university that improves the lives of the people of
Pennsylvania, the nation and the world through integrated, high-quality
program in teaching, research and services.
The Anechoic Chamber offers the environment for the advancement of
communications technology in collaborative entities with industrial
educational, and government partners here and abroad to generate,
disseminate, integrate, and apply knowledge.
The Anechoic
Chamber, under the direction of the Applied Communications Technology
department, plans to become operational during the 2008 calendar year.
The Chamber will support ARL’s mission to serve the University as a center
of research excellence and advanced capabilities for science and technology
to conduct applied research engineering and application analyses in the
field of tactical / wireless communications and related radio technologies;
antennas, RF applications, sensors, advanced processors, software defined
radios, mission computers, data links, protocols, command and control
systems:
- Independent Researcher
- Trusted Agent
- Educator & Trainer
- Corporate Memory
Facilities provide for graduate and undergraduate experimentation as well as faculty experimental research.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) representation of the
chamber:
CAD Representations Available For:
- RF Prediction Modeling & Analyses
- Result Verification
CAD Floor Plan Available For:
- Test Planning
- Project Planning
- Configuration
Anechoic Chamber Facility Compound:
 Extendable Tower |
 Saltwater Hemispherical Antenna Pattern Test Jig |
|
 Outdoor Monitoring Station |
 Measurement Equipment |
 Antennas |