A Novice’s Guide to Approximating the Material Stresses and System Requirements for Hypersonic Flight

Author(s):

Thomas Parker

Abstract:

This report covers some of the material stresses and challenges in delivering a 155-mm munition at hypersonic speeds to long ranges (e.g., 100 km). The necessity of using slender bodies to reduce drag forces is discussed. Also considered is the explicit need for propulsion to maintain hypersonic speeds and the current performance limitations of solid rocket fuels. The high temperatures and heat fluxes, as well as the probable need to remove heat from the system to prevent excessive temperatures in the entire munition, are examined. The use of water to remove heat and act as a rocket fuel component and a mechanism to throttle a solid rocket engine is suggested as an avenue for future research. The recent development of an artillery shell gun launch with a solid fuel ramjet points to the need to develop solid rocket fuel chemistries that do not contain oxidizer and/or can utilize water vapors as a fundamental technological hurdle to overcome. The equations approximating the mechanical forces and heat-related stressors are given such that a non-expert could readily estimate the stresses for other flight systems and ranges.