Investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena using real-time concurrent diagnostics

Hypervelocity impact of meteoroids and orbital debris poses a serious and growing threat to spacecraft. To study hypervelocity impact phenomena, a comprehensive ensemble of real-time concurrently operated diagnostics has been developed and implemented in the Small Particle Hypervelocity Impact Range (SPHIR) facility. This suite of simultaneously operated instrumentation provides multiple complementary measurements that facilitate the characterization of many impact phenomena in a single experiment. The investigation of hypervelocity impact phenomena described in this work focuses on normal impacts of 1.8 mm nylon 6/6 cylinder projectiles and variable thickness aluminum targets. The SPHIR facility two-stage light-gas gun is capable of routinely launching 5.5 mg nylon impactors to speeds of 5 to 7 km/s. Refinement of legacy SPHIR operation procedures and the investigation of first-stage pressure have improved the velocity performance of the facility, resulting in an increase in average impact velocity of at least 0.57 km/s. Results for the perforation area indicate the considered range of target thicknesses represent multiple regimes describing the non-monotonic scaling of target perforation with decreasing target thickness. The laser side-lighting (LSL) system has been developed to provide ultra-high-speed shadowgraph images of the impact event. This novel optical technique is demonstrated to characterize the propagation velocity and two-dimensional optical density of impact-generated debris clouds. Additionally, a debris capture system is located behind the target during every experiment to provide complementary information regarding the trajectory distribution and penetration depth of individual debris particles. The utilization of a coherent, collimated illumination source in the LSL system facilitates the simultaneous measurement of impact phenomena with near-IR and UV-vis spectrograph systems. Comparison of LSL images to concurrent IR results indicates two distinctly different phenomena. A high-speed, pressure-dependent IR-emitting cloud is observed in experiments to expand at velocities much higher than the debris and ejecta phenomena observed using the LSL system. In double-plate target configurations, this phenomena is observed to interact with the rear-wall several micro-seconds before the subsequent arrival of the debris cloud. Additionally, dimensional analysis presented by Whitham for blast waves is shown to describe the pressure-dependent radial expansion of the observed IR-emitting phenomena. Although this work focuses on a single hypervelocity impact configuration, the diagnostic capabilities and techniques described can be used with a wide variety of impactors, materials, and geometries to investigate any number of engineering and scientific problems.

Boundary-layer transition on a slender cone in hypervelocity flow with real gas effects

The laminar to turbulent transition process in boundary layer flows in thermochemical nonequilibrium at high enthalpy is measured and characterized. Experiments are performed in the T5 Hypervelocity Reflected Shock Tunnel at Caltech, using a 1 m length 5-degree half angle axisymmetric cone instrumented with 80 fast-response annular thermocouples, complemented by boundary layer stability computations using the STABL software suite. A new mixing tank is added to the shock tube fill apparatus for premixed freestream gas experiments, and a new cleaning procedure results in more consistent transition measurements. Transition location is nondimensionalized using a scaling with the boundary layer thickness, which is correlated with the acoustic properties of the boundary layer, and compared with parabolized stability equation (PSE) analysis. In these nondimensionalized terms, transition delay with increasing CO₂ concentration is observed: tests in 100% and 50% CO₂, by mass, transition up to 25% and 15% later, respectively, than air experiments. These results are consistent with previous work indicating that CO₂ molecules at elevated temperatures absorb acoustic instabilities in the MHz range, which is the expected frequency of the Mack second-mode instability at these conditions, and also consistent with predictions from PSE analysis. A strong unit Reynolds number effect is observed, which is believed to arise from tunnel noise. N_Tr for air from 5.4 to 13.2 is computed, substantially higher than previously reported for noisy facilities. Time- and spatially-resolved heat transfer traces are used to track the propagation of turbulent spots, and convection rates at 90%, 76%, and 63% of the boundary layer edge velocity, respectively, are observed for the leading edge, centroid, and trailing edge of the spots. A model constructed with these spot propagation parameters is used to infer spot generation rates from measured transition onset to completion distance. Finally, a novel method to control transition location with boundary layer gas injection is investigated. An appropriate porous-metal injector section for the cone is designed and fabricated, and the efficacy of injected CO₂ for delaying transition is gauged at various mass flow rates, and compared with both no injection and chemically inert argon injection cases. While CO₂ injection seems to delay transition, and argon injection seems to promote it, the experimental results are inconclusive and matching computations do not predict a reduction in N factor from any CO₂ injection condition computed.