Proposed Vertical Expansion Tunnel

It is proposed that the adverse effects from secondary diaphragm rupture in an expansion tunnel may be reduced or eliminated by orienting the tunnel vertically, matching the test gas pressure and the accelerator gas pressure, and initially separating the test gas from the accelerator gas by density...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIAA journal 2013-12, Vol.51 (12), p.2792-2799
Main Authors: Parziale, N. J, Rabinovitch, J, Blanquart, G, Hornung, H. G, Shepherd, J. E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accelerators
Aerospace engineering
Counties
Density stratification
Dimensional analysis
Enthalpy
Exact sciences and technology
Fluid dynamics
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Gas analysis
Gas pressure
Ground tests
Hypervelocity
Ideal gas
Instrumentation for fluid dynamics
Particulates
Physics
Reservoirs
Rupture
Shock tunnels
Testing time
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Summary:It is proposed that the adverse effects from secondary diaphragm rupture in an expansion tunnel may be reduced or eliminated by orienting the tunnel vertically, matching the test gas pressure and the accelerator gas pressure, and initially separating the test gas from the accelerator gas by density stratification. This proposed configuration is termed the vertical expansion tunnel. Two benefits are 1) the removal of the diaphragm particulates in the test gas after its rupture, and 2) the elimination of the wave system that is a result of a real secondary diaphragm having a finite mass and thickness. An inviscid perfect-gas analysis and quasi-one-dimensional Euler computations are performed to find the available effective reservoir conditions (pressure and mass specific enthalpy) and useful test time in a vertical expansion tunnel for comparison to a conventional expansion tunnel and a reflected-shock tunnel. The maximum effective reservoir conditions of the vertical expansion tunnel are higher than the reflected-shock tunnel but lower than the expansion tunnel. The useful test time in the vertical expansion tunnel is slightly longer than the expansion tunnel but shorter than the reflected-shock tunnel. If some sacrifice of the effective reservoir conditions can be made, the vertical expansion tunnel could be used in hypervelocity ground testing without the problems associated with secondary diaphragm rupture.
ISSN:0001-1452
1533-385X
DOI:10.2514/1.J052389