Aerothermal–Structural Analysis of a Rocket-Launched Mach 8 Scramjet Experiment: Ascent

Abstract

This paper reports on the methodology and results of a weak-coupled aerothermal–structural analysis on the ascent phase of the SCRAMSPACE Mach 8 scramjet flight experiment. This vehicle was essentially unshrouded during the flight trajectory, relying on the thin, 5 mm thick aluminum external shell of the payload to maintain structural integrity and protect the flight experiment. As such, understanding the thermal–structural response of the vehicle was imperative to mission success. Using two- and three-dimensional models, an iterative procedure was employed to compute the flowfield, convective heating, wall temperatures and structural coupling at flight times covering both peak heating and peak surface temperature. Accounting for such coupling resulted in a 150 K reduction in wall temperature compared to the more conservative cold wall assumption. Despite this, peak temperatures remained of the order of 550 K. Further, thermally induced stresses within these regions were in excess of four times the material failure limits. Irreversible material failure during ascent was therefore concluded likely to occur on the external shell. Two alternate materials, steel 1006 and copper, were therefore assessed with the results indicating that steel sections on the external shell resulted in the best thermal–structural response of the payload.