Launch of the GH2/GO2 Supply Facility for Hot Plume Testing at DLR Cologne

Kurzfassung

The paper describes the actual state of the GH2/GO2 supply facility that has been established at the DLR site in Cologne to give a new perspective to the investigation of rocket afterbodies with hot plumes in experimental testing. In 2016, the basic concepts of the facility design were presented. These have now been fully realized and the facility has been put into operation by summer 2017. Its purpose will be to provide our Vertical Wind Tunnel test section (VMK) with combustible mixtures of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen for the operation of a model integrated rocket combustion chamber, to produce hot plumes with realistic stagnation properties and exit velocities. The model will be a generic rocket launcher that is subjected to ambient flow in the subsonic to transonic regimes. For the characterization of the operating range in terms of total pressure, temperature and mixing ratio, a stand-alone thrust chamber for static ambient condition has been developed and operated in the start-up. Setup, results, and the consequential outlook to future wind tunnel tests are presented in this article.