External Flow-Field Effects on the Plume Impingement Pressure and Heat- Transfer-Rate Distributions on a Flat Plate

Experimental plume impingement pressure and heat-transfer-rate distributions on a flat plate with and without an external Mach number 18 stream are described. The plume was generated by expanding helium through a 1.61 area ratio nozzle, which simulated the initial shape of a rocket exhaust plume produced by a nozzle with an area ratio of 25 operating at an altitude of 262, 000 ft. Although the plume generator nozzle conditions were not varied, the quiescent environment conditions and external stream conditions were adjusted so that the general shape and size of the plume remained the same. A higher quiescent pressure environment was required to produce a plume of the same size as the plume obtained in an external stream. Prepared in cooperation with ARO, Inc., Tullahoma, TN., Rept. no. ARO-VKF-TR-71-136.