The annular rig was designed and constructed within the EU project AIDA, which started in 2004. The rig has also been used and modified to fit the needs for the EU project AITEB-2, which started in 2005. The focus of the research carried out using this rig is on increased efficiency in gas turbines and the associated gains made in reduced fuel consumption and the greenhouse effect.

The rig is an axisymmetric semi-open wind tunnel aimed for studies of flow fields and heat transfer in those parts of a jet engine that follow behind the first turbine stage. The most interesting property of the annular rig is that it includes a rotor stage that make the creation of realistic inlet conditions for the downstream parts possible.

The air speed out of the rotor stage can be varied up to a maximum speed of 30 m/s. In addition, the load on the turbine can be varied, and this makes it possible also to vary the flow angle.

The annular cascade rig has been used to study and to improve on our understanding of the flow fields and heat transfer in the turbine part of modern jet engines. The rotating turbine disc has proven to be absolutely essential in these studies.