Ablation Measurements and Analysis of Solid Carbon Dioxide Models at Mach 3.

Three-dimensional ablation measurements, acquired using solid carbon dioxide for the model material and carried out at Mach 3, are compared to predictions of a computational model that incorporates fluid dynamics and solid-body response. Models were formed in situ by mounting three-dimensional printed molds on a hollow sting, through which liquid carbon dioxide flowed. The blowdown wind tunnel, operating with a vacuum tank connected to its outlet, provided stagnation pressures through a wide range (6.0 to 45 psia) while maintaining a nearly constant stagnation temperature for all tests (~295 K). Three synchronized high-speed cameras captured the model recession from different angles while multiple low-power lasers projected structured arrays of dots onto the otherwise visually uniform model. Commercially available software was applied to quantify the recession data. As expected, recession rates were largest at the nose of each model and increased with stagnation pressure. A quantitative comparison of the recession rate at the stagnation point showed very good agreement between the experiment and the computational model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]