Alloys for Nozzles of Hypersonic Wind Tunnels

Alloys are being developed for nozzles of hypersonic wind tunnels to be used in testing components of future hypersonic missiles, aircraft, and space transportation systems. The nozzle components made from these alloys will be required to retain sufficient strength to withstand stresses of as much as 600 MPa at throat surface gas temperatures as high as 1,700 K while resisting erosion and oxidation by impinging hypersonic flows of air and possibly other gases. In some applications, back-side cooling or film/transpiration cooling may be used to reduce the temperature rises in nozzles. Alternatively, in some applications, nozzles may be used, without active cooling, in either of two heat-sink modes. In one mode, exposure time would be limited in order to limit the maximum temperature rise. In the other mode, denoted the self-limiting heat-sink mode, a nozzle throat would be exposed long enough to come into thermal equilibrium with the gas, and, hence, the nozzle throat material must be chosen to withstand the maximum surface gas temperature (e.g., 1,700 K) for an indefinite time.