Mainstream Engineering Awarded Contract from the US Air Force for the Development of Fast-Actuating Valve for Hypersonic Wind Tunnels

ROCKLEDGE, FL — January 19, 2018 —  Mainstream Engineering Corporation, a 32-year-old Brevard County manufacturer with a history of leading-edge research and development that has resulted in advanced, lean-manufacturing, cost-competitive products, which are all made in the USA, has been awarded a contract from the U.S Air Force for the development of a Fast-Actuating Valve for Hypersonic Wind Tunnels.  “The complexity of designing and fabricating a 24-inch diameter gate valve, that weighs hundreds of pounds, opens in 1/100’s of a second, and has to perform reliably over many cycles  is sometimes underestimated,” says Dr. Robert P. Scaringe, President of Mainstream.  “We are at the structural limits of the materials, acceleration and velocity limits of the linear bearings, and forced to develop tremendous accelerations to close such a large heavy valve in so little time.”

About Mainstream Engineering Corporation
Mainstream Engineering Corporation is a solutions-oriented research, development and manufacturing small business founded in 1986. Our primary mission is to transition advanced thermal control and energy conversion technology into high-quality and cost-effective commercial products. Military products include lightweight diesel/JP8-fueled electric generators, environmental control units and refrigerators/freezers for shipping containers. Commercial products include the QwikProduct line for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) technicians, details of which can be found at www.qwik.com. Areas of expertise include thermal control, energy conversion, turbomachinery, power electronics, renewable energy, chemical technology and materials science.