Investigation of aerodynamic interactions between a free-flying and a balance-mounted object

Abstract

The problem of aerodynamic interactions between multiple objects is encountered in both natural and man-made situations. Velocities and trajectories during atmospheric re-entry of meteoroids or space debris are influenced by their relative positions and speeds. The department of Supersonic and Hypersonic Technologies of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) investigates such interactions. Simulations and experiments are carried out to determine the forces, moments, and thermal loads experienced by a secondary body within the shocked region created by a primary one in a hypersonic flow. Experiments using a free flight technique without any sting interferences have been made at the DLR. For validation of the full free flight experimental data, measurements with a free flying object and a fixed second object are performed in this thesis. The fixing allows the measurement of precise data for comparison e.g. forces, moments, pressure or heat fluxes. Simulations using the TAU solver are performed to determine the influence of the fixing system on the measured forces, moments and heat loads, to validate both configurations, and to validate previous simulations.