Shock Tube Studies of Ram Accelerator Phenomena
Abstract
This research was aimed at developing an improved understanding of hypersonic exothermic flows through the application of modern experimental methods and finite-rate-chemistry flowfield modeling. The emphasis has been on providing fundamental data, of flowfield structure and combustion ignition times, which are relevant to the ongoing development of the ram accelerator concept. Work in flow imaging and modeling utilized the Stanford expansion tube with a combined OH PLIF and schlieren imaging technique. This approach was successfully applied to the study of unsteady combustion in blunt body flows, oblique detonations in wedge flows, and simulated ram accelerator flows. In parallel, combustion ignition times of ram accelerator propellant mixtures were measured in the Stanford high pressure shock tube. These data have yielded improved kinetic models of ram accelerator ignition chemistry. Future work will be concentrated in combining analytical and numerical modeling with the imaging experiments, and in developing reduced-size kinetic mechanisms of ram accelerator combustion chemistry.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 16, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA332467
Entities
People
- Ronald Kenneth Hanson
Organizations
- Stanford University