Reduction of leading edge temperatures during high speed flight

Steele, William M.B (1973) Reduction of leading edge temperatures during high speed flight. MSc(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

It has already been shown that by taking into consideration the conducting power of the leading edge material, nose temperatures are substantially reduced compared to the case where aerodynamic heating is balanced by radiation alone. The leading edge is envisaged as a "conducting plate" and the heat transfer equations formulated. This investigation is concerned with two particular methods of reducing leading edge temperatures by increasing the conducting power of the leading edge. The first involves manufacturing a leading edge consisting of a basic structural material on to 'which is bonded a nose of highly conducting material. The main problem which arises is that a thermal resistance may be set up across the interface of the two structural materials and it is possible that the reduction gained in nose temperature will be offset by this thermal resistance. Steady state heat transfer equations are set up to allow for the variation in material properties. Experimentation is carried out to determine the junction thermal resistance, which cannot be obtained analytically, and to investigate the accuracy of the results predicted by the solution of the heat transfer equations. Models of simple shapes, are manufactured from copper and stainless steel to represent the leading edge and are subjected to simulated aerodynamic heating. The object of the other part of the investigation is to find the material distribution for a leading edge such that it has a minimum nose temperature for the amount of material available and a linear temperature distribution over its length. Previous investigations have been concerned mainly "with relatively simple leading edge shapes. By taking the temperature distribution as linear a stress free leading edge is obtained and the analysis of the thickness distribution is considerably simplified since the heat transfer equation becomes directly integrable. A model was manufactured on the basis of the analysis and subjected to simulated aerodynamic heating to provide a comparison with the predicted results.

• Item Type: Thesis (MSc(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Additional Information: Adviser: T RF Nonweiler
• Keywords: Aerospace engineering
• Date of Award: 1973
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:1973-73923
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• Last Modified: 14 Jun 2019 08:56
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/73923