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Comparison of numerical and experimentaldrag measurement in hypervelocityflow

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

A. L. Smith ,
I. A. Johnston  and
K. J. Austin
A. L. Smith
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
I. A. Johnston
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
K. J. Austin
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical EngineeringThe University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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Extract

In planning interplanetary missions which involve anaerobraking manoeuvre, it is necessary to makeaccurate predictions of the aerodynamic drag actingon a vehicle during its descent. Of interest to theauthors is the Nasa initiative for exploration ofMars and its atmosphere. The Mars Pathfinder is aprobe that is expected to enter the Martianatmosphere at a relative velocity of approximately7.6 kms-1;. The forebody of this vehicleis based on a 70° blunted cone and is typical ofaerobraking designs.

In this note, a comparison is made between experimentaland numerical techniques for predicting drag inhypervelocity flow. Three different models wereexamined in this study: a 30° sharp cone; an Apolloheat shield; and a Viking heat shield. A relativelysimple analytical result for the drag on a coneprovides a convenient reference for both theexperimental and numerical results. The two heatshields are typical of those used for interplanetaryexploration, such as the Mars Pathfinder. Our aim isto give an example of how computational fluiddynamics can be used in conjunction with experimentsto obtain information about the hypervelocity flowabout re-entry vehicles.

Information

Type
Technical Note
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 100 , Issue 999 , November 1996 , pp. 385 - 388
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1996 

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