A numerical optimization of high altitude testing facility for wind tunnel experiments

Abstract High altitude test facilities are required to test the high area ratio nozzles operating at the upper stages of rocket in the nozzle full flow conditions. It is typically achieved by creating the ambient pressure equal or less than the nozzle exit pressure. On average, air/GN2 is used as active gas for ejector system that is stored in the high pressure cylinders. The wind tunnel facilities are used for conducting aerodynamic simulation experiments at/under various flow velocities and operating conditions. However, constructing both of these facilities require more laboratory space and expensive instruments. Because of this demerit, a novel scheme is implemented for conducting wind tunnel experiments by using the existing infrastructure available in the high altitude testing （HAT） facility. This article presents the details about the methods implemented for suitably modifying the sub-scale HAT facility to conduct wind tunnel experiments. Hence, the design of nozzle for required area ratio A/A＊, realization of test section and the optimized configuration are focused in the present analysis. Specific insights into various rocket models including high thrust cryogenic engines and their holding mechanisms to conduct wind tunnel experiments in the HAT facility are analyzed. A detailed CFD analysis is done to propose this conversion without affecting the existing functional requirements of the HAT facility.

A review of modeling,simulation,and control technologies of altitude ground test facilities for control application

As the pivotal test equipment of aero-engines design,finalization,improvement,modification,etc.,the Altitude Ground Test Facilities(AGTF)plays an important role in the research and development of the aero-engines.With the rapid development of advanced high-performance aeroengine,the increasing demand of high-altitude simulation test is driving AGTF to improve its test ability and level of automation and intelligence.The modeling method,simulation tool,and control technology are the key factors to support the improvement of the AGTF control system.The main purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of modeling methods,simulation tools,and control technologies in AGTF control system for future research.First,it reviews the evolution of AGTF in the world,from the early formative stage to integration stage.Then,the mathematical modeling method of AGTF for control application is overviewed.Furthermore,the simulation tools used in the AGTF control system are overviewed from numerical simulation to hardware-in-loop simulation and further to semi-physical simulation.Meanwhile,the control technologies used in the AGTF control system are summarized from single-variable control to multivariable integrated control,and from classical control theory to modern control theory.Finally,recommendations for future research are outlined.Therefore,this review article provides extensive literature information for the modeling,simulation,and control design of AGTF for control application.

Real-time modular dynamic modeling for compression system of altitude ground test facilities

Modeling of a centrifugal compressor is of great significance to surge characteristics and fluid dynamics in the Altitude Ground Test Facilities(AGTF).Real-time Modular Dynamic System Greitzer(MDSG)modeling for dynamic response and simulation of the compression system is introduced.The centrifugal compressor,pipeline network,and valve are divided into pressure output type and mass flow output type for module modeling,and the two types of components alternate when the system is established.The pressure loss and thermodynamics of the system are considered.An air supply compression system of AGTF is modeled and simulated by the MDSG model.The simulation results of mass flow,pressure,and temperature are compared with the experimental results,and the error is less than 5%,which demonstrates the reliability,practicability,and universality of the MDSG model.

Performance analysis of lobed nozzle ejectors for high altitude simulation of rocket engines

Ejectors are used in high altitude testing of rocket engines to create vacuum for simulat-ing the engine test in vacuum conditions.The performance of an ejector plays a vital role in creating vacuum at the exit of the engine nozzle and the nozzle design exit pressure at the time of ignition.Consequently,the performance of ejectors has to be improved to reduce the consumption of active fluid.In this investigation,the performance of an ejector has been improved by changing the exit shear plane of the nozzle.Conventionally,conical nozzles are used for creating the required momentum.Lobes of 4 no’s,6 no’s and 8 numbers for an equivalent area ratio=5.88 are used to increase the shear area.The influence of shear plane variation in the suction pressure is studied by a detailed CFD analysis.

Model optimization method and connected-pipe experiment of a liquid fuel ramjet engine

The optimization method of a mathematical model and connected-pipe experimental technique for a test in altitude test facility (ATF) of a liquid fuel ramjet engine was researched.The optimization of the simple mathematical model was divided into two steps.Firstly,using the test engine's geometry configuration size data,a preliminary adjustment was done.Secondly,using experimental test data,the components' experiential coefficients were modified appropriately.Emphasis was laid on the simulation technique of flight condition and parameters measurement method.The experimental technique was applied to a ramjet ATF test successfully.The comparison results show that the optimized-model has higher precision and the nozzle gross thrust difference drops from 12% to about 4%.

Modified robust optimal adaptive control for flight environment simulation system with heat transfer uncertainty

To solve the rapid transient control problem of Flight Environment Simulation System(FESS) of Altitude Ground Test Facilities(AGTF) with large heat transfer uncertainty and disturbance, a new adaptive control structure of modified robust optimal adaptive control is presented.The mathematic modeling of FESS is given and the influence of heat transfer is analyzed through energy view. To consider the influence of heat transfer in controller design, we introduce a matched uncertainty that represents heat transfer influence in the linearized system of FESS. Based on this linear system, we deduce the design of modified robust optimal adaptive control law in a general way. Meanwhile, the robust stability of the modified robust optimal adaptive control law is proved through using Lyapunov stability theory. Then, a typical aero-engine test condition with Mach Dash and Zoom-Climb is used to verify the effectiveness of the devised adaptive controller. The simulation results show that the designed controller has servo tracking and disturbance rejection performance under heat transfer uncertainty and disturbance;the relative steady-state and dynamic errors of pressure and temperature are both smaller than 1% and 0.2% respectively. Furthermore,the influence of the modification parameter c is analyzed through simulation. Finally, comparing with the standard ideal model reference adaptive controller, the modified robust optimal adaptive controller obviously provides better control performance than the ideal model reference adaptive controller does.