Keywords

hypersonic aero-optics shock tube

Abstract

The high-pressure shock tube facility (HiPER-STAR) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) is analyzed experimentally to demonstrate the practicality of hypersonic aero-optical testing in an impulse facility without the use of an expansion nozzle or acceleration tube. The investigation analyses driver gas blending with helium and hydrogen to raise the speed of sound ratio in an attempt to increase the Mach number for aero-optics testing. HiPER-STAR has a unique ability to withstand pressures up to 1000 atm and run in a double diaphragm configuration allowing for a significant pressure differential to be created between the driver and driven sections. Results from this study show that hydrogen and helium blending can drastically increase the maximum Mach number of HiPER-STAR; Mach numbers up to 15 were generated at a variety of altitudes. Experiment test time varied on shock velocity but was purely dependent on the arrival of the reflected shock wave to measurement locations. The aero-optics data that was collected and visually captured with a high-speed camera clearly shows beam aberration due to density gradients and a diminishing light intensity indicating that hypersonic aero-optical phenomenon can be captured reliably and repeatedly with a shock tube.

Completion Date

2023

Semester

Fall

Committee Chair

Vasu Sumathi, Subith

Degree

Master of Science (M.S.)

College

College of Engineering and Computer Science

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Degree Program

Thermofluid Aerodynamic Systems Design

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

DP0028064

URL

https://purls.library.ucf.edu/go/DP0028064

Language

English

Release Date

December 2023

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

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