CPC B64C 1/38 (2013.01) | 20 Claims |
1. An envelope portion of an airborne craft, the envelope portion comprising:
a nose;
a metallic outer wall;
a metallic inner wall arranged interior to the outer wall, the outer and inner walls delimiting an inter-wall volume configured to support a flow of coolant to cool the outer wall during atmospheric heating of the outer wall; and
a plurality of coolant-flow partitions arranged in the inter-wall volume, joining the outer and inner walls, and extending radially and helically about an axis constructed through the nose and aligned to a trajectory of the airborne craft, the plurality of coolant-flow partitions delimiting:
a plurality of forward-flow channels configured to receive coolant from a coolant reservoir and to conduct the coolant through the inter-wall volume; and
a plurality of reverse-flow channels configured to receive and conduct the coolant through the inter-wall volume,
wherein the plurality of reverse-flow channels are arranged fluidically downstream of the plurality of forward-flow channels.
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