Features of achievement of limiting speed values of track tests of ballistic type aircraft

Abstract

The development of high-speed ballistic aircraft with speeds exceeding 1000 m/s is currently a priority abroad and in Russia. The effectiveness of new such products is confirmed by track tests at the speed of their use. Test sites with rail tracks exist in almost all countries, for example in the USA there are more than 15 of them. Double-rail, monorail and various combinations thereof, differing in length, width of the rail pair, rails and the design of the track itself, including a sealed shell over the rail track to fill it with a lighter one environment. The longest track in the USA is Holloman AFB, located in New Mexico with a length of 15536 m. They have track ranges with different lengths and their own special design in England, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, India, China, Korea, Turkey and other countries, including African continent. High-speed range tests in Russia are carried out on the experimental installation “Rocket Rail Track 2500”, located on the territory of the FKP “GkNIPAS named after L. K. Safronov”. The experimental installation consists of a rail track placed on a special base, providing the necessary vertical profile of the track with sections of ascent and straight horizontal movement, as well as a technological descent section for braking moving technological equipment. The product under test is placed on a rocket track sled moving along rails on sliding supports. To accelerate the track carriage, solid fuel rocket engines are used, the thrust of which is selected based on ballistic calculations to achieve the required test speed. The length of the track plays an important role in achieving the maximum acceleration speeds of moving track equipment. The enormous aerodynamic drag, proportional to the square of the speed of movement of the carriage, when tested at high speeds, leads to the need to reduce the midsection and mass of the mobile unit. An increase in engine thrust leads to an increase in the weight and cost of track equipment, as well as to the need to increase the safety margin of sliding supports. However, an increase in test speed can be achieved by replacing the air medium with gases that have a significantly lower density, for example, helium. Track testing of new aircraft or their elements, although cheaper than flight testing, is quite expensive. In this regard, work on the theoretical assessment of replacing the medium from ambient air with helium, as well as with a mixture of helium and air at different concentrations in an indoor gallery on a track rail track, is a new, relevant and practically useful task. The work performed a numerical simulation of the problem of supersonic flow around a helium-air mixture at different volumetric ratios. Numerical values of aerodynamic resistance were obtained at a sled speed of 830 m/s. The results of numerical calculations of the motion dynamics of a 3D model of monorail track equipment, which are planned for use in conducting full-scale fire experiments, are presented.