Upgraded VKI Plasmatron capabilities with supersonic nozzles for extended material characterization methods

Abstract

In the domain of re-entry and hypersonic vehicles, advancing material development requires comprehensive material testing to thoroughly understand the aero-thermo-chemistry at the surface. This paper overviews hypersonic, high-temperature activities conducted at the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) Plasmatron facility, employing three recently developed supersonic nozzles. These activities aim to augment VKI’s experimental and numerical capabilities in high-temperature material research, contributing to a deeper understanding of the chemical surface interactions, at stagnation and off-stagnation locations, during re-entry. The newly developed nozzles were 3D printed using an additive manufacturing aluminum alloy. The three nozzles serve distinct purposes: two conical ones of varying lengths are designed for stagnation point testing, while the third nozzle, adopting a semi-elliptical shape, is tailored for off-stagnation point testing. The initial section of the paper focuses on designing, manufacturing, and simulating these nozzles, then we characterize the nozzle flow and compare with simulations, while the subsequent part will delve into showcases of recent activities conducted in the Plasmatron facility utilizing these distinct nozzle configurations.