DEVELOPMENT OF THE HARRIS-HEAT PROGRAMFOR HIGH-SPEED TEST TRACK HEATING PREDICTION

The Holloman Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition (HBLT) project seeks to test the practicality of using the Holloman High Speed Test Track to investigate the effects of boundary layer transition on hypersonic bodies. Concurrently, the Harris-Heat Program is being developed to estimate the heat transfer and body temperatures experienced by the test article throughout the duration of the test. A nominal public release case inspired by blunt-cone work from Stetson is investigated. The geometry is a 30% blunt 8-deg half angle cone with a tungsten nosetip and stainless steel frustum, where all walls are 0.5 inches thick. Preliminary findings show that temperature histories measured by surface thermocouples will likely discern the onset of transition as a sudden rise in temperature and heat transfer. The nominal geometry is simulated over a Mach-6 velocity profile. Peak turbulent heating results in tungsten nosetip surface temperatures of up to approximately 1900 degrees Fahrenheit, with temperatures at the downstream end of the stainless steel frustum reaching about 850 degrees Fahrenheit.