Experimental and numerical investigation of the HyShot II flight experiment

Abstract

The HyShot program was a series of flight experiments conducted by the University of Queensland to validate the ground testing of scramjet configurations in shock tunnels. The first successful test flight, HyShot II, was launched on July 30, 2002. The payload consisted of two back-to-back scramjet flowpaths (fuelled/unfuelled, but otherwise identical) and was equipped with a variety of instrumentation. Flight data was transmitted and recorded over the entire trajectory, though a structural failure was thought to occur at an altitude of approximately 31km. Comparisons were made between the flight pressure data and preflight ground tests in the T4 shock tunnel, but differing geometries and flow conditions prevented the drawing of definite conclusions. Additional post-flight ground testing was performed in HEG, but the tested configuration was based upon a preliminary analysis of the flight data that differs from that in the refereed literature. Thus, the aim of the present investigation was to obtain ground test data at conditions as close as possible to those of the reference flight data.