Mach 12 & 15 Scramjet Test Capabilities of the HYPULSE Shock -Expansion Tunnel

The NASA Hypersonic Pulse Facility (HYPULSE), formerly known as t he Langley 6 Inch Shock Expansion Tube , has been used for several decades to provide hypersonic flow conditions for ground tests in various aeroheating and aeropropulsion studies. These test programs have included the Gemini and Apollore -entry studies, N ational Aero Space Plane injector and combustor testing, and Hyper -X Mach 7 and 10 scramjetengine flowpath development. In anticipation of future direction to further expand the scramjet operability databasein the hypervelocityregime, researchers at NA SA Langley Research Center have continued to investigate the means to obtain the test capability. Conceptual studies of air -breathing access to space systems have indicated that hydrogen- fueled scramjetengines have practical operational limits within the vicinity of the Mach 15 -16 range. An effort was started in early 2003 to expand the HYPULSE operational range to provide for additional hypervelocity scramjettest conditions . Using the flow properties derivedfrom detailed pitot pressure surveys at th e exit of the HYPULSE shock tube, a contoured nozzle was designed to produce the desired inlet conditions for Mach 12 and 15 flight operations of an air -breathing launch vehicle. This paper report s the new test conditions, the test conduct for the tube -en d and nozzle exit survey tests, and demonstrate s through comparison of data against computed values that the expanded flow at the nozzle exit is suitable for combustion t esting .