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At least 307 records · Page 17

BOLT-2 Roughness Side Flight Data Results and Analysis

This report provides an in-depth review of the flight data obtained from Side B, also known as the roughness side, of BOLT-2, which was developed and designed to measure the effectiveness of boundary layer trips at hypersonic conditions. Three discrete-roughness trips were implemented on Side B at specific locations, with the necessary sensor layout, to investigate the flight conditions at which they no longer maintained turbulence behind them. All three trips were the same type that were scaled and sized based on predictions of local boundary layer thicknesses to provide the same level of effectiveness. One trip was on the vehicle centerline, where the boundary layer is relatively thick, while the other two were symmetrically located outboard where the boundary layer is much thinner. The relative difference in boundary layer thickness between these locations was roughly on the order of 3-to-1, thus the centerline trip was geometrically about three times larger than the outboard trips. A first order assessment of the Side B flight results is indicated by these three trips forcing transition onset at the same time during flight. The enclosed flight data shows that the performance of each individual trip was nearly identical, with allowances for minor variations attributed to measurement accuracy.

Flight Data↗

Aeroheating Testing of the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System with Surface Roughness

The Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System is a mission concept which would be the first NASA entry vehicle to utilize a woven thermal protection system as well as a 52.5 degree sphere-cone forebody geometry. Due to its novel design, historic experimental data sets were insufficient to validate the models used to characterize the expected aerothermal environment. A wind tunnel test campaign was funded by the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry System project in the NASA Langley 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel in order to obtain validation data. The December 2023 test entry of this campaign sought to obtain thermographic data to capture the impact of supersonic flow near woven surface roughness elements on convective heating augmentation, which was the largest remaining uncertainty in aerothermal design of the Earth Entry System. Data obtained were in family with prior results obtained on identical woven patterns without supersonic flow present at roughness elements, and it was found that this presence of supersonic flow did not have a noticeable effect on surface convective heating augmentation. Data were directly leveraged to support the NASA Mars Sample Return flight program and this data set is valuable for validating computational solutions on roughness-resolved grids.

Mars Sample Return↗

Effect of roughness on properties of airfoils

The first group of a large series of contemplated experiments on the effect of roughness was intended to show the effect of great roughness on airfoils of various sizes and attitudes.

AIRFOILS↗

Rough and Steep Terrain Lunar Surface Mobility

In the summer of 2004, the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate conducted an open call for projects relevant to human and robotic exploration of the Earth-Moon and Mars systems. A project entitled 'Rough and Steep Terrain Lunar Surface Mobility' was submitted by JPL and accepted by NASA. The principal investigator of this project describes the robotic vehicle being developed for this effort, which includes six 'wheels-on-legs' so that it can roll efficiently on relatively smooth terrain but walk (using locked wheels as footpads) when "the going gets rough".

rough↗

Development of the BOLT II Roughness Experiment for Flight

BOLT II is a sounding rocket research project with the goal of studying hypersonic boundary layer transition and turbulence. The BOLT II research vehicle is based on a three-dimensional geometry (a slightly longer version of BOLT) with concave surfaces and swept leading edges that provides two separate and distinct, also redundant, flow paths for conducting measurements. One side of BOLT II is dedicated to smooth surface transition and turbulence, to better study the natural instability processes, while the other has been assigned to study forced transition and turbulence using discrete roughness trips. The present paper is intended to document the primary drivers and decisions made leading up to finalizing the roughness side experiment for the BOLT II flight.

Hypersonic↗

Development of the BOLT II Roughness Experiment for Flight

BOLT II is a sounding rocket research project with the goal of studying hypersonic boundary layer transition and turbulence. The BOLT II research vehicle is based on a three-dimensional geometry (a slightly longer version of BOLT) with concave surfaces and swept leading edges that provides two separate and distinct, also redundant, flow paths for conducting measurements. One side of BOLT II is dedicated to smooth surface transition and turbulence, to better study the natural instability processes, while the other has been assigned to study forced transition and turbulence using discrete roughness trips. The present paper is intended to document the primary drivers and decisions made leading up to finalizing the roughness side experiment for the BOLT II flight.

hypersonic↗

BOLT II Roughness-Side Flight Results

An initial review of the roughness data from the BOLT II flight is provided. The BOLT II roughness experiment was designed to investigate discrete trips in flight based on the diamond configuration, which has been shown to be an efficient vortex generator and boundary layer trip from extensive ground-based testing. There were three trip locations chosen for the flight test and their size (height and width) were tailored to the local boundary layer thickness, but all three were expected to trip at the same time or flight condition. Details about the flight vehicle design, instrumentation, and best estimated trajectory are discussed. The present paper is limited to only a review and analysis of the thermocouple data. Boundary layer transition onset times are derived from the thermocouple analysis, thus allowing an initial assessment of the performance of these discrete trips. Since the three trips were sized to trip the boundary layer at the same time, based on a previous wind tunnel study, the present analysis indicates that they performed as expected.

Hypersonic↗

Experimental Aeroheating Study in NASA LaRC 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel: Discrete Roughness on BOLT – Test 7071

An experimental study of the effect of discrete roughness (trips) on boundary layer transition was conducted in the NASA Langley Research Center 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel on the BOLT shape. This study was intended to obtain results that could eventually be compared against experimental results from other facilities, as well as from flight. The trip locations for the present study were selected to correspond to those used for the flight vehicle, but the heights of these discrete roughness elements were varied. Infrared thermography was used to obtain images of the effect of these trips on the behavior of the boundary layer. This report is intended as a quick release of experimental results.

hypersonic↗

Effect of Roughness on Transition on the BOLT-1a Geometry in Supersonic Flow

Infrared thermography measurements on an 8.8% scale BOLT-1a model were made in the NASA Langley Probe Calibration Tunnel for freestream unit Reynolds numbers from 7.7 × 10^ -6 /m to 30.7 × 10^ -6 /m, a freestream Mach number of 3.5, and nominal angle of attack of 0 degrees. The model was printed from polycarbonate and tested before and after fine-grit sanding to evaluate the effect of surface roughness on transition. Global surface roughness measurements were obtained using a 3D optical profilometer. The temperature distributions on the upper and lower experimental surfaces of the test article were simultaneously captured using two infrared cameras. Prior to testing, the facility’s freestream environment was characterized. At a freestream unit Reynolds number of approximately 17 × 10^ -6 /m, the nozzle-wall boundary layer began to transition non-uniformly, inducing transition on the model. The boundary-layer state was determined by analyzing Stanton number distributions computed from the surface temperature measurements. The present supersonic conditions that were examined on BOLT-1a were found to display both similarities and disparities in comparison to previous hypersonic experiments.

boundary layer transition↗

Rough surface improves stability of air- sounding balloons

Aerodynamic stability of balloons used for measuring the intensity and direction of atmospheric winds at various elevations is improved by incorporating a rough surface on the balloons. The rough-surfaced balloon is useful for collecting wind profiles and other meteorological data.

Scoggins, J. R.↗

Effects of roughness on heating and boundary-layer transition. Part 1: Effects of simulated panel joints on boundary-layer transition

The effects of distributed roughness, arising from space shuttle orbiter panel joints, on boundary layer transition are investigated. The North American Rockwell 134B delta wing shuttle configuration was used for the study. Results show: (1) Premature boundary layer transition occurred in models having simulated heat shield panels with rased joints. (2) Laminar flow was maintained with slot type panel joint models to a Reynolds number twice that at which transition occurred in raised joints. (3) Significant increases in peak surface temperature and the time during which turbulent flow occurs may result from distributed roughness of heat shield panel joints. (4) Laminar and turbulent heating levels were predicted within available theories. (5) A complex interference between the wing and fuselage flow was observed in the delta wing model.

Seegmiller, H. L.↗

Directional behavior of thermal emission from a rough lunar surface.

The directionality is studied of the infrared emission from the lunar surface. A rough surface is postulated where the roughness is characterized by a crater field on a plain surface. The contour of the craters is assumed to be spherical. This makes it possible to determine the thermal emission on the basis of the temperature distribution obtained analytically by Adorjan (1970). By integrating the radiosities of both the craters and plain surfaces over a control area, and for given solar elevation and observation angles, the brightness temperatures are determined. The obtained results are presented in diagrams and discussed.

Adorjan, A. S.↗

Temperature of the rough lunar surface.

The effect of lunar surface roughness on the lunar surface temperatures is investigated. It is shown that the apparent surface temperature varies significantly according to the observation angle at a given solar elevation. This is due to the surface roughness which is postulated as a level surface interspersed with craters. The temperatures of craters and flat surfaces are obtained analytically. The apparent temperature is the result of the contribution of craters and flat regions whose ratio is derived from earth-based measurements. The results are compared with experimental data.

Adorjan, A. S.↗

Mechanism by which a two-dimensional roughness element induces boundary-layer transition.

An experimental investigation of the effect of two-dimensional roughness elements on boundary-layer transition is described. Primary emphasis is given to the nature of disturbances within the recovery zone. Detailed measurements of mean velocity distributions, of disturbance spectra, and intensity, growth, and decay of disturbances at discrete frequencies were made for a range of unit Reynolds numbers. The measurements demonstrate that the behavior can best be understood by considering wave-type disturbances, and that the basic mechanism by which a two-dimensional roughness element induces earlier transition to turbulent flow is by the destabilizing influence of the flow within the recovery zone.

Klebanoff, P. S.↗

Surface roughness effects on the supersonic aerodynamics of the Rockwell International 089B-139 orbiter

An experimental test program was conducted to determine the effects of vehicle surface roughness on the supersonic aerodynamic characteristics of a 0.01875 scale model of a space shuttle configuration. Surface roughness was simulated by applying a sparse coating of carborundum grit to complete model. Various grit sizes were investigated. The tests were conducted in a wind tunnel at Mach numbers from 1.60 to 4.63. The angle of attack was varied from about -2 deg to as much as 42 deg at 0 deg and + or - 3 deg of sideslip. The angle of sideslip was varied from -8 deg to 8 deg at angles of attack from 0 deg to 40 deg.

Ware, G. M.↗

Surface roughness effects on the subsonic aerodynamics of the Rockwell International 089B-139B orbiter

An experimental test program was conducted to determine the effects of vehicle surface roughness on the subsonic aerodynamic characteristics of a 0.01875 scale model of a Rockwell International Space Shuttle Configuration. Surface roughness was simulated by applying a sparce coating of carborundum grit to the complete model. Various grit sizes were investigated. Tests were conducted in the Langley Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel at a constant nominal Mach number of 0.25 with Reynolds number varying from 2 to 12 x 10 to the 6th power per foot. Angle of attack was varied from about -2 to 28 deg at 0 deg and 6 deg angle of sideslip.

Ware, G. M.↗

The effects of particle size on the optical properties and surface roughness of a glass-balloon-filled black paint

The effects of particle size on the optical properties and surface roughness of a glass-balloon-filled, carbon-pigmented paint were studied in order to develop a diffuse-reflecting, low-total-reflectance, low-outgassing black paint. Particle sizes ranged between 20 microns and 74 microns. Surface roughness was found to increase with increasing particle size. Relative total reflectance at near-normal incidence (MgO standard) of the filled paints was less than for the unfilled paint between 230 nm and 1800 nm. Total absolute reflectance at 546 nm decreased with increasing particle size at grazing angles of incidence. Near-normal, total emittance was greater for the filled paints than for the unfilled paint. Specularity decreased with increasing particle size over the range studied.

Heslin, T.↗