Development of X-43A Mach 10 Leading Edges
- Paper number
IAC-05-D2.5.06
- Author
Dr. David E. Glass, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Langley Research Center, United States
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The nose leading edge of the Hyper-X Mach 10 vehicle is anticipated to reach temperatures near 4000°F. A SiC coated carbon/carbon leading edge material is not expected to survive those temperatures for even the short single flight. To identify a suitable leading edge for the Mach 10 vehicle, arc-jet testing was performed on leading-edge segments fabricated using thirteen different material systems to evaluate their performance in a simulated flight environment. Hf, Zr, Si, and Ir based materials, in most cases as a coating on carbon/carbon, were included in the evaluation. As a result of the testing, MER, Tucson, AZ was selected as the supplier of the leading edges for the M 10 flight vehicle. The nose and vertical and horizontal tail leading edges were fabricated out of a 3:1 biased high thermal conductivity C/C. The leading edges were coated with a three layer coating comprised of a SiC conversion of the C/C, followed by a CVD layer of SiC, followed by a thin CVD layer of HfC. Thermal and mechanical properties were evaluated by NASA Langley, MER, and Southern Research Institute. The properties were used in thermal and structural analysis performed by NASA Langley. This paper will describe the analysis and fabrication of the M 10 flight vehicle C/C leading edges and the testing performed to support the analysis and validate performance.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-D2.5.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.