Diagnostic Tools and Facilities for Material Testing for Hypersonic Flight Applications

A suite of diagnostics is proposed for measurements of temperature, displacement and strain in a very high temperature environment needed for the determination of creep behavior and fatigue lifetime of ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTC) for hypersonic flight applications. A low-cost non-contact test apparatus is proposed to produce a controlled, high-temperature environment to serve as a test bed for the implementation and validation of these diagnostic methods. Experiments using a large parameter space are planned to accurately determine the creep and fatigue lifetimes of UHTC. Several experiments are also planned to gauge the effect of oxidation on the creep and fatigue behaviors. The proposed work also involves simulations using finite element analysis that will be compared to the data obtained from the measurements for the purpose of validation. The information on creep, fracture and fatigue is expected to pave the way for longer duration testing in high-enthalpy flow environment wherein the heat fluxes relevant for hypersonic flight are encountered.