ALL ABOUT DRDO HYPERSONIC TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR VEHICLE ( HSTDV)

 

Hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle or hstdv as per sources 7th of september 2020 defense research and development organization drdo successfully tested this technology demonstrator vehicle this is still not a product or an application it is still a technology demonstrator vehicle because based on these technologies which are mastered during this test an altogether new weapon will be developed or maybe multiple weapons will be developed such as brahmos 2 or india's very own kinzhal this successful test places india in an elite club of four countries these are united states of america russia china and now india with hstdv during this test this hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle was mounted on top of an agni 1 poster this agni 1 booster took this technology demonstrator vehicle at an altitude of 30 kilometer and after reaching this altitude the scramjet engine in the hypersonic technology demonstrator vehicle was ignited as per the reports this technology demonstrator vehicle cruised with a speed of 6 mac and the flight duration of hstdv was 22 seconds the formula of speed is distance divided by time and using this formula if we try deriving formula of distance then distances speed into time we already have speed that is 6 mac and time of 22 seconds if we try converting the six mark into kilometer per second then we must know what is one mark the speed of one mark is point three four three kilometers per second the six mark will be two point zero five eight kilometers per second now based on this if we multiply it with 22 since the time of the flight was 22 seconds then it comes approximately 45 kilometers one must noted here that this is a technology demonstrator vehicle and the final product will have more fuel or maybe larger size if we look at the typical mission profile of an hs tdv vehicle then one can understand it has multiple stages during the first stage it lifts off followed by a bose phase by agni series booster after taking this vehicle to the desired altitude and supersonic speeds this booster stage separates from the vehicle and then this technology demonstrator vehicle comes out of encapsulation and then its scramjet engine starts one must understand the scramjet engines can not start at the speed 0. these engines will work only after reaching the supersonic speed and thus after reaching the supersonic speed the scramjet engine of hstdv starts this is the duration when this technology demonstrator vehicle travels at the hypersonic speed the speed of 6 mac during this test is not the top speed this vehicle can attain larger speed but the objective of this test was to verify the inlets pressure and temperature handling capabilities of combustion chamber and control guidance it is very important for the metal used in this technology demonstrator vehicle can sustain very high pressure and temperature the temperature can go up to 2500 degree centigrade the scramjet engine used in this technology demonstrator vehicle is an indigenous scramjet engine the working principle of scramjet engine is same as ramjet or turbo jet in these engines the air is sucked in compressed mixed with the fuel and burnt this combustion creates expansion which in turn creates the thrust that helps the vehicle connected with this engines to move forward in case of turbo jet engines the compression is performed by the compressor blades but in case of scramjet engine the compression is because of the shape of the engine however the compression ratio is lesser that drastically reduces the efficiency of the engine to understand the working of the scramjet engine in hstdv let's understand how entire vehicle works the 4 body of this vehicle assists the air intake to perform the air compression then the inlet section further compresses this air which goes through isolator the role of isolator here is to ensure that the air does not come back this specifically designed section ensures that while going in there's no resistance for the air but while returning back there's a higher degree of resistance which ensures that no air comes back thus causing no or very little turbulence in the combustion segment in the combustion segment this air is mixed with the fuel and in this stage itself the combustion happens the expanded gases go out through the nozzle which generates the thrust and the vehicle moves at the hypersonic speeds this technology demonstrator vehicle will likely form the basis for the brahmos hypersonic cruise missile that is brahmos ii a air launch version of a hypersonic cruise missile can also be developed from this the air launch version likely will be lighter because the mother aircraft which likely could be sukhoi 30 mki can cruise at the supersonic speeds therefore it will not require a booster segment or even if it requires one that will be a smaller one the applications are unlimited this technology will help india to develop futuristic weapons that will alter the strategic balance in favor of india