Interaction Heating Facility
The IHF is equipped with a 60-MW constricted heater that operates at pressures from 1 to 9 atmospheres and enthalpy levels from 7 to 47 MJ/kg (3000 to 20000 Btu/lb). The facility is designed to operate with interchangeable conical nozzles with exit diameters ranging from 76.2 mm (3”) to 1 m (41”). When the heater is coupled with the semielliptical nozzle, the test stream is suitable for testing flat panels of up to 610 x 610-mm (24” by 24”) in simulated hypersonic boundary layer flow environments.
Combined Heating Capability
Entering an atmosphere at very high speed requires inclusion of the shock front’s radiation on the craft’s thermal protection system.
The IHF best simulates convective heating but it also possible to simulate radiative heating using the Laser Enhanced Arc-Jet Facility (LEAF). LEAF uses up to four 50-kW continuous wave (CW) Infrared lasers. Utilizing both facilities simultaneously, it is possible to simultaneously expose a TPS test material to both radiative and convective heating.
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