Throat and Wall Materials for Hypersonic Wind Tunnel

Thermal barrier coating (TBC) technologies introduced and refined in the rocket industry are proposed to solve the demanding thermal environments intrinsic in high enthalpy, hypersonic wind tunnels. This innovative approach couples the knowledge base from high heat flux rocket thrust chamber material research and development and the high heat flux nozzle systems in AEDC wind tunnel facilities. The key innovative features of this proposal include refinement and optimization of vacuum plasma sprayed ceramic zirconia using proprietary interlayer materials on copper-zirconium (Cu-Zr). Empirical validation will be performed using an augmented oxygen/kerosene rocket engine to test the performance of the TBC on Cu-Zr coupons. Analysis is proposed to model the thermal environment and to correlate the empirical results with engineering computation.