Experimental Investigations on High-Speed Aerodynamic Heating over Inflatable Decelerators

Heat transfer measurements and high-speed schlieren flow visualization were performed over a cylinder with an aft-attached inflatable decelerator configuration at Mach 3.9. Back wall temperature measurements using thermocouples were used to derive the heat flux distribution over the decelerator surface. A strong nonlinear rise in peak heat flux with angle of attack is observed and windward–leeward effects are quantified. Using appropriate flow and geometric symmetries, heat maps are generated over the regions of the decelerator, which are critical for its thermal design. The effect of fore-end bluntness in terms of peak heat fluxes and integrated heat loads is investigated. The results indicate a possibility of flying at a small angle of attack to reduce the integrated heat loads while simultaneously generating some lift. Tests up to an angle of attack of 20 deg show that even though the peak heating rises strongly, the overall integrated heat loads on the surface of the decelerator remain manageable. A local minimum is seen in peak heat flux levels on the surface at angles of attack of 12–16 deg.