Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment Overview

Berger, Karen T.; Anderson, Brian P.; Campbell, Charles H.; Garske, Michael; Saucedo, Luis A.; Kinder, Gerald R.; Micklos, Ann M.

doi:10.2514/6.2011-3323

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Lack of quality flight data to calibrate and quantify the uncertainties with a boundary layer transition assessment tool resulted in an unprecedented and risky spacewalk during STS-114 to repair observed tile damage [42][43]. To lower risk posture for future flights, quantitative IR based global temperature measurements with adequate spatial resolution and dynamic range were proposed to non-intrusively complement the limited thermocouple coverage on the Orbiter [44][45]. Over a period of approximately the next 2.5 years, seven distinct infrared observations of the reentering Orbiter, spanning a Mach range from 6.2 to 18.1, were made.…”

Section: Thermal Imaging (Shuttle Orbiter)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote observations of reentering spacecraft including the space shuttle orbiter

Horvath

Cagle

Grinstead

et al. 2013

2013 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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Abstract-Flight measurement is a critical phase in development, validation and certification processes of technologies destined for future civilian and military operational capabilities. This paper focuses on several recent NASA-sponsored remote observations that have provided unique engineering and scientific insights of reentry vehicle flight phenomenology and performance that could not necessarily be obtained with more traditional instrumentation methods such as onboard discrete surface sensors. The missions highlighted include multiple spatially-resolved infrared observations of the NASA Space Shuttle Orbiter during hypersonic reentry from 2009 to 2011, and emission spectroscopy of comparatively small-sized sample return capsules returning from exploration missions. Emphasis has been placed upon identifying the challenges associated with these remote sensing missions with focus on end-to-end aspects that include the initial science objective, selection of the appropriate imaging platform and instrumentation suite, target flight path analysis and acquisition strategy, pre-mission simulations to optimize sensor configuration, logistics and communications during the actual observation. Explored are collaborative opportunities and technology investments required to develop a next-generation quantitative imaging system (i.e., an intelligent sensor and platform) with greater capability, which could more affordably support cross cutting civilian and military flight test needs.

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Section: Thermal Imaging (Shuttle Orbiter)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote observations of reentering spacecraft including the space shuttle orbiter

Horvath

Cagle

Grinstead

et al. 2013

2013 IEEE Aerospace Conference

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“…Details of the BLT FE program, including discussion of these discrepancies and mitigation strategies, can be found in Ref. 27. These anomalies point to the need for careful calibration of all instrumentation.…”

Section: Shuttle Blt Flight Experiments 2006mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, for the Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment (BLT FE) Project, a manufactured protuberance tile was installed on the port wing of Discovery on STS-119, STS-128, STS-131 and STS-133 and of Endeavour for STS-134. 27 An incremental approach was utilized to increase the protuberance height after successful missions. STS-119 flew a 0.25-inch protuberance with a predicted BLT onset at Comparisons of analytical predictions to the obtained flight data have shown that while BLT onset times have been accurately predicted using BLT Tool Version 2, predicted temperatures are significantly higher than measured, especially at higher Mach numbers.…”

Section: Shuttle Blt Flight Experiments 2006mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recommendations for Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Flight Testing

Berry

Kimmel

Reshotko

2011

41st AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit

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Much has been learned about the physics underlying the transition process at supersonic and hypersonic speeds through years of analysis, experiment and computation. Generally, the application of this knowledge has been restricted to simple shapes like plates, cones and spherical bodies. However, flight reentry vehicles are in reality never simple. They typically are highly complex geometries flown at angle of attack so three-dimensional effects are very important, as are roughness effects due to surface features and/or ablation. This paper will review our present understanding of the physics of the transition process and look back at some of the recent flight test programs for their successes and failures. The goal of this paper is to develop rationale for new hypersonic boundary layer transition flight experiments. Motivations will be derived from both an inward look at what we believe constitutes a good flight test program as well as an outward review of the goals and objectives of some recent US based unclassified proposals and programs. As part of our recommendations, this paper will address the need for careful experimental work as per the guidelines enunciated years ago by the U.S. Transition Study Group. Following these guidelines is essential to obtaining reliable, usable data for allowing refinement of transition estimation techniques.

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“…An assessment of the collected data, using the digital NIR imaging sensor, for STS-119, STS-125, STS-128, STS-131, STS-132, STS-133, and STS-134 missions, is presented. A majority of these missions contained a detailed test objective (DTO) to study boundary layer transition (BLT) [11]. The DTO BLT mission flew a modified tile with a protuberance to induce turbulent flow.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, a digital NIR imaging system was implemented after a series of rigorous testing at the Solar Tower Thermal Test Facility at Sandia National Laboratories [6,7]. Implementation of the digital NIR camera system has resulted in NIR imagery with improved dynamic range, instantaneous field of view, and signal to noise [8][9][10][11]. The characterizations performed on the digital NIR system included radiometric, spatial, and spectral measurements using blackbody radiation sources and known targets [12,13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermographic imaging of the space shuttle during re-entry using a near-infrared sensor

Zalameda

Horvath

Kerns

et al. 2012

Thermosense: Thermal Infrared Applications XXXIV

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High resolution calibrated near infrared (NIR) imagery of the Space Shuttle Orbiter was obtained during hypervelocity atmospheric re-entry of the STS-119, missions. This data has provided information on the distribution of surface temperature and the state of the airflow over the windward surface of the Orbiter during descent. The thermal imagery complemented data collected with onboard surface thermocouple instrumentation. The spatially resolved global thermal measurements made during the Orbiter's hypersonic re-entry will provide critical flight data for reducing the uncertainty associated with present day ground-toflight extrapolation techniques and current state-of-the-art empirical boundary-layer transition or turbulent heating prediction methods. Laminar and turbulent flight data is critical for the validation of physics-based, semi-empirical boundary-layer transition prediction methods as well as stimulating the validation of laminar numerical chemistry models and the development of turbulence models supporting NASA's next-generation spacecraft. In this paper we provide details of the NIR imaging system used on both air and land-based imaging assets. The paper will discuss calibrations performed on the NIR imaging systems that permitted conversion of captured radiant intensity (counts) to temperature values. Image processing techniques are presented to analyze the NIR data for vignetting distortion, best resolution, and image sharpness.

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Boundary Layer Transition Flight Experiment Overview

Cited by 11 publications

References 20 publications

Remote observations of reentering spacecraft including the space shuttle orbiter

Remote observations of reentering spacecraft including the space shuttle orbiter

Recommendations for Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Flight Testing

Thermographic imaging of the space shuttle during re-entry using a near-infrared sensor

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