Brazilian 14-X Hypersonic Aerospace Vehicle Project

Abstract

The Brazilian 14-X Hypersonic Aerospace Vehicle, a new generation of scientific aerospace vehicle, designed at Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics, at Institute for Advanced Studies (IEAv), is part of the continuing effort of the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA), to develop a technological demonstrator using: i) waverider technology to provide lift to the aerospace vehicle, and ii) scramjet technology to provide hypersonic airbreathing propulsion system based on supersonic combustion. In consequence of the nature of the supersonic combustion engines, they are unable to produce thrust while stationary, the static thrust is zero. Accordingly, they must be accelerated to a speed such that the shock waves produced by the air intake are able to compress the atmospheric air. This velocity, called initial operation speed, is approximately four times the speed of sound, Mach 4, considering scramjet. Two-stage, unguided, rail launched, solid rocket engines will be used to accelerate the 14-X Hypersonic Aerospace Vehicle to the pre-established conditions to operate the scramjet engine, i.e., position (altitude, latitude and longitude), speed (Mach number), dynamic pressure and angle of attack. The 14-X Hypersonic Aerospace Vehicle project consists of four atmospheric flights. The first flight is planned for 14-X captive (accelerator and 14-X vehicles coupled during the entire flight) unpowered scramjet Mach number 6; the second for 14-X free (accelerator and 14-X vehicles separated after burn of 2 stage of accelerator vehicle) unpowered scramjet Mach number 6 flight; and the two last are planned for free hydrogen-powered scramjet Mach number 6 and Mach number 10, respectively. Pure waverider aerodynamic, scramjet power off and power on as well as 14-X stage separation will be experimentally investigated using the three Hypersonic Shock Tunnels at Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonics. Pressure and temperature measurements at pure waverider external upper and lower surfaces and scramjet power off and power on internal surfaces will be obtain to provide wind-tunnel data to design the full 2-m. long atmospheric flight of 14-X Hypersonic waverider scramjet Aerospace Vehicle. Non-intrusive measurements using optical diagnostic techniques have been implemented at Hypersonic Shock Tunnels, as well as in-house computational fluid dynamics have been developed for waverider, scramjet and 14-X Hypersonic Aerospace Vehicle.