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Hopkins, H. B.

Publications and source records attributed to Hopkins, H. B..

Validation of scramjet exhaust simulation technique at Mach 6

Current design philosophy for hydrogen-fueled, scramjet-powered hypersonic aircraft results in configurations with strong couplings between the engine plume and vehicle aerodynamics. The experimental verification of the scramjet exhaust simulation is described. The scramjet exhaust was reproduced for the Mach 6 flight condition by the detonation tube simulator. The exhaust flow pressure profiles, and to a large extent the heat transfer rate profiles, were then duplicated by cool gas mixtures of Argon and Freon 13B1 or Freon 12. The results of these experiments indicate that a cool gas simulation of the hot scramjet exhaust is a viable simulation technique except for phenomena which are dependent on the wall temperature relative to flow temperature.

Hopkins, H. B.↗

Validation of scramjet exhaust simulation technique

Scramjet/airframe integration design philosophy for hypersonic aircraft results in configurations having lower aft surfaces that serve as exhaust nozzles. There is a strong coupling between the exhaust plume and the aerodynamics of the vehicle, making accurate simulation of the engine exhaust mandatory. The experimental verification of the simulation procedure is described. The detonation tube simulator was used to produce an exact simulation of the scramjet exhaust for a Mach 8 flight condition. The pressure distributions produced by the exact exhaust flow were then duplicated by a cool mixture Argon and Freon 13B1. Such a substitute gas mixture validated by the detonation tube technique could be used in conventional wind tunnel tests. The results presented show the substitute gas simulation technique to be valid for shockless expansions.

Hopkins, H. B.↗

Simulation of hypersonic scramjet exhaust

A plan and some preliminary analysis for the accurate simulation of pressure distributions on the afterbody/nozzle portions of a hypersonic scramjet vehicle are described. The objectives fulfilled were to establish the standards of similitude for a hydrogen/air scramjet exhaust interacting with a vehicle afterbody, determine an experimental technique for validation of the procedures that will be used in conventional wind tunnel facilities, suggest a program of experiments for proof of the concept, and explore any unresolved problems in the proposed simulation procedures. It is shown that true enthalpy, Reynolds number, and nearly exact chemistry can be provided in the exhaust flow for the flight regime from Mach 4 to 10 by a detonation tube simulation. A detailed discussion of the required similarity parameters leads to the conclusion that substitute gases can be used as the simulated exhaust gas in a wind tunnel to achieve the correct interaction forces and moments.

Oman, R. A.↗