Experimental Investigation of Cooling Techniques and Materials for Highspeed Flight Propulsion Systems

The multidisciplinary design process of future supersonic and hypersonic flight vehicles implies the development of propulsion systems using sophisticated cooling techniques in combination with advanced materials. Within the framework of the European research project ‘Aerodynamic and Thermal Load Interactions with Lightweight Advanced Materials for High Speed Flight’, in short ATLLAS, different cooling techniques using both metallic and ceramic materials for propulsion systems are under investigation. The hot fire experiments deal with the application of film and transpiration cooling in operating conditions beyond the scope of conventional aeroengines. Different newly developed ceramic materials are studied with respect to their applicability in oxidizer rich as well as fuel rich combustion atmospheres and operating conditions typical for the high-pressure turbojet and ram-based lower pressure engines. The information gained in the different test programs is fed back to the project partners engaged in the development of design and simulation tools and used as an input for the MDO design process of the overall propulsion system.