Sled Vehicle Aerodynamic Load Prediction Capability

"A rapid aerodynamic load and heat transfer prediction tool for high-speed sled vehicles is proposed. This new engineering model is aimed at meeting a need that is currently unavailable for the engineers operating the Holloman High Speed Test Track (HHSTT)in New Mexico. It is identified as the Rapid Aerodynamic Interaction Load or RAIL Code and will improve upon the accuracy of the simple estimates currently used and provide quality results in a matter of minutes using PC-based solvers. The basis of theRAIL Code are an engineering shock layer code, an integral-method boundary layer solver and aerodynamic data correlations for complex shock/boundary interactions, especially under transonic conditions. This suite of models also treats real gas effects.Such capability will become important as the sled-track speeds increase to 11,000 ft/s and scramjet simulations are undertaken. The Phase I effort will center upon assessing the feasibility of adapting the models to the sled-interaction problem includingground plane reflections and multiple-body interactions. The Phase II effort will center around the implementation of the architecture into a new PC-based code. The operation of the code will be validated against actual sled aerodynamics data. Theprimary use of the rapid aerodynamic load prediction tool is for the engineers and defense contractors, who plan and execute rocket sled track tests at the Holloman Sled Test Track Facility.