High spatial resolution measurements of ram accelerator gas dynamic phenomenaHigh spatial resolution experimental tube wall pressure measurements of ram accelerator gas dynamic phenomena are presented. The projectile resembles the centerbody of a ramjet and travels supersonically through a tube filled with a combustible gaseous mixture, with the tube acting as the outer cowling. Pressure data are recorded as the projectile passes by sensors mounted in the tube wall at various locations along the tube. Data obtained by using a special highly instrumented section of tube has allowed the recording of gas dynamic phenomena with a spatial resolution on the order of one tenth the projectile length. High spatial resolution tube wall pressure data from the three regimes of propulsion studied to date (subdetonative, transdetonative, and superdetonative) are presented and reveal the 3D character of the flowfield induced by projectile fins and the canting of the projectile body relative to the tube wall. Also presented for comparison to the experimental data are calculations made with an inviscid, 3D CFD code.
Document ID
19920066220
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hinkey, J. B. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Burnham, E. A. (NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Bruckner, A. P. (Washington, University Seattle, United States)