What is it about?
This research is a proof of concept study on alternative methods of increasing the survivability of hypersonic vehicles during flight. One of the main problems during flight at these speeds is the introduction of high temperatures along the surface of the vehicle. Engineers design thermal protection systems to mitigate any problems that could be caused during flight due to theses high loads of heat. This research is the first step in investigating a method commonly referred to as internal convective cooling. This system would be designed to run cool air or fluid through channels near surfaces of high heat flux in order to reduce the surface temperatures by carrying the heat away. The paper summarizes our proof of concept model in designing a nose cone and internal convective cooling system optimized for removing as much heat from the surface as possible while maintaining structural integrity and staying relatively lightweight.
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Why is it important?
This research is important because it is taking the already proven method of convective cooling often seen in small electronics and heat exchangers and applying it to a new problem, hypersonic flight.
Perspectives
This proof of concept research gave me a good perspective on where I would like to take future research with improvements on internal pipe flow and channel structure. Hopefully, internal convective cooling systems will one day become a common method used in the design and implementation of thermal protection systems on future hypersonic vehicles.
Mr. Dylan J Stelzer
Air Force Institute of Technology
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Topology Optimization and CFD Analysis of a Hypersonic Vehicle Nose Cone, January 2016, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/6.2016-1247.
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