Development and Ground Testing of Direct Measuring Skin Friction Gages for High Enthalpy Supersonic Flight Tests

Abstract A unique towed air-launch concept called the vertical air-launch sled is studied using a 1/32nd scale vehicle. The sled allows a launch vehicle carried by it to be towed to an altitude by a mother aircraft using a standard towline. The focus was to design and test autonomous tow taxi and takeoff phase of flight using simulations and flight tests. In order to study the scaling validity, experimental flight test data was compared to the theoretically predicted dynamic response of the scaled system, as well as compared to a theoretically predicted dynamic response of the full-scale system. The towing aircraft is a 1/11th scale T-28 remotely piloted aircraft. Lateral stability, runway centerline following ability as well as tautness of the tow line are studied as measures of performance of the autonomous system designed. Test results are reported showing that the tow aircraft was able to tow the vehicle along the correct path. It is identified that the rudder servos were saturated in adjusting the trajectory and future flight tests will include implementing front wheel steering into the system to alleviate the rudder servos saturation. Duration of the flight tests will be increased to better evaluate the automatic controller.

Download Full-text

Numerical Investigation on Aero-Thermodynamic Characteristics of Wedge Shaped Nose Cone of Near Space Supersonic Flight

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.541-542.608 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 541-542 ◽

pp. 608-612 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jia Lin ◽

Lian Jin Zhao ◽

Jian Hua Wang

Keyword(s):

Wind Tunnel ◽

Numerical Investigation ◽

Thermodynamic Characteristics ◽

Real Space ◽

Supersonic Flight ◽

High Enthalpy ◽

Near Space ◽

Cone Model ◽

Nose Cone ◽

Numerical Strategy

A numerical investigation on the space (0-46km) aero-thermodynamic characteristics of a nose cone model was performed using commercial software STAR-CCM++. Turbulence model and numerical calculation strategy was validated by the experimental phenomenon captured in a ground high-enthalpy wind tunnel and empirical formula calculation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the distinctions between the experiment performed in ground high-enthalpy wind tunnel environment and real space flight using the validated numerical strategy, as well as the aero-thermodynamic characteristics of the nose cone model in different flight altitudes and Mach numbers, which will give a guidance to active cooling of spacecraft in real supersonic flight.

Download Full-text