Analytical Techniques for Computing Aeroheating, Thermal Protection and Temperature Effects on Hypersonic Vehicles

Holloman AFB rocket sled requirements for computing the aeroheating and structural temperature effects thereof exceed the capabilities of available aeroheating methods in that accounting for shock impingement heating, real-gas, or non-air effects as needed for the sled application may be absent from these methods. In this SBIR Phase I effort an approach is proposed which will modify a flow code similar to the LANMIN code to include these effects. A companion conduction code, similar to the EXITS code, will be tailored to the thermal structural geometries of the Holloman rocket sled. The operation of this code will be compatible with the output of the flow code. The shock impingement effects will incorporate the results from NASA TN D-7139 and other available analytical/experimental work on this effect. The equilibrium real air Mollier tables will be made sufficiently large to include the extreme temperature associated with mach 10 operation in the Holloman atmospheric conditions. The Mollier tables for helium will be installed for computing the heating on the sled when passing through that gas. The resultant codes will allow the Holloman Test Group to compute the thermal protection (TPS) requirements at critical locations on the sled and the bond-line temperature between the TPS and that tests of candidate TPS materials can be performed to develop the TPS needed for the rocket sled - the ultimate objective of the program. The Phase II commercialization potential includes other hypersonic vehicle applications (like the NASP concept) within the aerospace industry; and industrial situations requiring TPS material for high temperature, high heat-rate environments, such as material casting and extrusion facilities (steel and aluminum).