ABSTRACT
For testing objects under hypersonic regimes, provision of high pressure and high temperature, clean air is essential in a hypersonic wind tunnel (HWT) facility. For simulation of such conditions, ceramic brick-based storage heaters are the preferred choice. To operate the HWT for a Mach number of 6.5, air is to be heated to a temperature of 750 K. For this purpose, a regenerative storage air heater (RSAH) is selected and the design is carried out through an iterative process. Sizing of the heater is done based on the thermal duty requirements. In order to evaluate the performance of RSAH computational analysis using ANSYS software is carried out for heating, blowdown, and reheating cycles. Scale-down approach is followed with symmetric 3D computational fluid dynamics geometry consisting of last circumferential layer, insulation layers, and steel casing of heater. Moreover, enumerates challenges in arriving at the geometry for the analysis. Bed 446profile temperatures for heating, blowdown, and reheating are presented. The size of the heater is observed to be adequate for an exit air temperature during the 40-s blowdown period. The study revealed that the insulation layers to prevent the heat loss while safeguarding the shell are adequate. The analysis also helped in achieving the heating time of 7 h and reheating time of 3 h.
