Design of a Subscale, Inert Gas Test for Plume-Surface Interactions in a Reduced Pressure Environment
Ashley M. Korzun, Chad J. Eberhart, Jeffrey West, Peter Liever, Andrew B. Weaver, J. G. Mantovani, Austin G. Langton, Beverly W. Kemmerer, Austin R. Atkins
Abstract
View Video Presentation: https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2022-1808.vid Rocket plume-surface interaction is a multi-phase, complex discipline characterized by plume flow physics, erosion physics, and ejecta dynamics. To provide critical data for the validation of predictive modeling capabilities, an inert-gas, subscale ground test has been designed, with one test phase focused on cratering and ejecta and another test phase focused on plume structure and behavior. Using a supersonic, heated N2 jet impinging onto six different mechanical regolith simulants, visual data on the temporal evolution of cratering and ejecta are collected in a vacuum chamber at ambient pressures ranging from 600 Pa down to approximately 7 Pa. Using the same N2 jet impinging onto an instrumented plate, NO planar laser-induced fluorescence data are obtained at lower ambient pressures for the validation of both continuum and rarefied gas-phase physics. This paper discusses the design of this test and data products, with emphasis on the cratering and ejecta experiments, along with the physical scaling, challenges, and relevance of these data to the maturation of the plume-surface interaction discipline.