Passive Nosetip Technology (PANT) Program. Volume XIX. Hydrometeor/Shock Layer Interaction Study.

摘要

Hypersonic vehicles during reentry may experience extensive damage due to encounters with condensed phase H2O(hydrometeors) in the form of either ice particles or liquid droplets. These encounters, which can lead to augmented heating rates and mechanical erosion, must traverse the shocked gas enveloping the reentry vehicle prior to impacting the surface. The shock layer can, depending on flight conditions, vehicle configuration, and particle size, have a marked influence on the hydrometeors traversing the region between the shock wave and the body surface. Hence, an understanding of hydrometeor/shock layer interaction is required in order to predict impact conditions from specified vehicle configuration and free stream conditions. This report documents the results of an investigation directed at surveying a portion of the phenomenology associated with the interaction between water droplets and strong shock waves.