Abstract
The development of well-characterized, reliable, and cost-effective platforms for experimental aerothermodynamic research is a key factor to advance hypersonic technology. The use of high-enthalpy tunnels capable of producing flows representative of hypersonic flight conditions is in high demand for material survivability tests, gas/surface interaction studies, high-speed combustion, nonequilibrium, and radiative gas dynamics. A new Mach 6, high-enthalpy hypersonic wind tunnel has been constructed and tested at the University of Tennessee. The facility is capable of generating pulsed hypersonic flows with a duration of 500 ms and realistic stagnation enthalpy for hypersonic flight. The high-enthalpy flow is supplied by an electric arcjet-type heater with a nominal power of 500 kW. This paper provides an overview of the facility components and presents the results of the characterization of the tunnel stagnation conditions with nitrogen flow. The tunnel operating envelope was determined over a range of mass flow rates between 8 and 36 g/s and arc powers between 75 and 180 kW. Stagnation-point enthalpy and pressure were measured using heat flux and pitot probes over a wide range of stagnation conditions. The uniformity of the freestream properties was investigated by scanning multiple locations using a three-dimensional probe positioning system.
Published Version
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