Publicado 6 números por año
ISSN Imprimir: 2150-766X
ISSN En Línea: 2150-7678
Indexed in
EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON ROCKET EXHAUST PLUMES: SUPPORT FOR COMPUTED SIMULATION
SINOPSIS
Exhaust plumes of solid propellant missiles are heterogeneous flowfields containing gases and liquids or solid particles. Exhaust species mix with the atmosphere and may produce an afterburning flame. AP composite propellant combustion produces chloric acid which contributes to atmospheric water vapour condensation.
A missile exhaust plume has harmful operational consequences. It may disturb the missile guidance system and increase engine and launch platform detectability. Specific computer codes are used in order to simulate operational missile exhaust plume effects. Because these codes have to be verified, experimental techniques have been developed in order to characterize static rocket exhaust plumes. Radiation structure, radiance and temperature are measured by video, infrared and UV camera. Radiative chemical species are identified by spectroradiometry. Flowfield is studied by laser doppler anemometry and laser tomography. Collected smoke particles are analysed by electronic microscopy and X-ray spectrometry. Meteorological thresholds for water vapour condensation are noted for various propellant compositions.
Experimental setup, instruments and tested propellant are chosen in order to optimize comparisons between experimental results and numerical computations. Moreover, computer codes are modified to take experimental data into account.
Experimental and computed results allow establishment of correlations between exhaust plume characteristics, motor parameters and propellant compositions.