A Study of the Swelling and Bursting of the High Pressure Coupling (HPC) of a Two-Stage Light Gas Gun

A consistent picture of the swelling and bursting of the high pressure couplings (HPC) of two NASA Ames two-stage light gas guns is developed. The following information is used to construct the model. 1. Experimental measurements of the swelling and bursting of the HPCs of two two-stage light gas guns. 2. Stress-strain calculations of the swelling and bursting of thick walled steel tubes. 3. Experimental measurements swelling and bursting of thick walled steel tubes. 4. CFD calculations of the maximum pressures in the HPC of a two-stage light gas gun using the code LGGUN It is suggested that the techniques described herein could be used to assess the likelihood of swelling and bursting of the HPCs of various different two stage light gas guns.