Publications Details
Experimental aerodynamics research on a hypersonic vehicle
Aerodynamic force and moment measurements and flow visualization results are presented for a hypersonic vehicle configuration at Mach 8. The basic vehicle configuration is a spherically blunted 10{degree} half-angle cone with a slice parallel with the axis of the vehicle. On the slice portion of the vehicle, a flap could be attached so that deflection angles of 10{degree}, 20{degree} and 30{degree} could be obtained. All of the experimental results were obtained in the Sandia Mach 8 hypersonic wind tunnel for laminar boundary layer conditions. Flow visualization results include shear stress sensitive liquid crystal photographs, surface streak flow photographs (using liquid crystals), and spark schlieren photographs and video. The liquid crystals were used as an aid in verifying that a laminar boundary layer existed over the entire body. The surface flow photo-graphs show attached and separated flow on both the leeside of the vehicle and near the flap. A detailed uncertainty analysis was conducted to estimate the contributors to body force and moment measurement uncertainty. Comparisons are made with computational results to evaluate both the experimental and numerical results. This extensive set of high-quality experimental force and moment measurements is recommended for use in the calibration and validation of relevant computational aerodynamics codes.