Particle Erosion Testing in the Boeing Hypersonic Wind Tunnel
Abstract
Missiles flying in the atmosphere could be subjected to passage through dust clouds formed by surface bursts of nuclear weapons. Such flight would result in the erosion of frontal surfaces, particularly the regions covered with ablative-insulative materials. The technique described in this paper was developed to provide data on the erosive effects of dust on cork, carborazole and silicone rubber (DC-93-072) in the Mach 3 to 6 flight regime. The Erosion Test technique was developed utilizing the Boeing 12-inch Hypersonic Wind Tunnel. The wind tunnel was modified so that sand and glass beads could be introduced into the tunnel flow anytime during a test run. The material was injected up-stream of the nozzle throat and drag accelerated to high velocities prior to arrival at the test section. Drag computations based upon spherical particle drag, with the drag coefficient a function of Mach Number and Reynolds Number, indicate that the particles attained velocities, dependent upon size, of 2550 to 3250 feet-per-second.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0848524
Entities
People
- George Lorenz
Organizations
- Boeing