Investigation of Ablation of Ice Bodies in Hypersonic Flows

Citation

Anderson, David Ellsworth (1960) Investigation of Ablation of Ice Bodies in Hypersonic Flows. Engineer's thesis, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/CD24-6081. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-12082005-140201

Abstract

NOTE: Text or symbols not renderable in plain ASCII are indicated by [...]. Abstract is included in .pdf document. The physical characteristics of the ablation process are described. A theoretical approach to calculate the heat transfer to the wall of an ablating body under flow conditions encountered in the GALCIT hypersonic tunnels is outlined. Simplification is achieved by assuming the vapor pressure next to the subliming body is at its equilibrium value. The GALCIT hypersonic test facilities are described briefly. Methods of manufacture are given for [...], [...], and [...] models. Techniques and special test equipment used in obtaining experiments results with [...] and [...] (camphor) are described. An illustration of the computational technique used to determine the heat transfer rates to the wall and the wall temperature distributions is included. Figures to show the agreement between theory and experiment are presented and reasonable results are obtained for temperature distribution, but heat-transfer rates (ablation rates) are greater for theory than for experiment.

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