Thermal–structural analysis of the platelet heat-pipe-cooled leading edge of hypersonic vehicle

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Thermal–structural analysis of the platelet heat-pipe-cooled leading edge of hypersonic vehicle

Hongpeng, Liu / Weiqiang, Liu

Abstract One of the main challenges for the hypersonic vehicle is its thermal protection, more specifically, the cooling of its leading edge. To investigate the feasibility of a platelet heat-pipe-cooled leading edge structure, thermal/stress distributions for steady-state flight conditions are calculated numerically. Studies are carried on for IN718/Na, C-103/Na and T-111/Li compatible material combinations of heat pipe under nominal operations and a central heat pipe failure cases, and the influence of wall thickness on the design robustness is also investigated. And the heat transfer limits (the sonic limit, the capillary limit and the boiling limit) are also computed to check the operation of platelet heat pipes. The results indicate that, with a 15mm leading edge radius and a wall thickness of 0.5mm, C-103/Na and T-111/Li combinations of heat pipe is capable of withstanding both nominal and failure conditions for Mach 8 and Mach 10 flight respectively.

Highlights • Thermal protection effect of a platelet heat-pipe-cooled leading edge are investigated. • C-103/Na combination of heat pipe can satisfy the requirement for Mach 8 flight. • T-111/Li combination of heat pipe can satisfy the requirement for Mach 10 flight. • Increasing the wall thickness can decrease the maximum stress of heat pipe for failure cases.