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Lift and Drag Characteristics of the HL-10 Lifting Body During Subsonic

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Lift and Drag Characteristics of the HL-10 Lifting Body During Subsonic NASA TECHNICAL NOTE NASA TN D-6263 - _-­ e,.i KIRTLAkD AFB,N.M, LIFT AND DRAG CHARACTERISTICS . OF THE HL-IO LIFTING BODY DURING SUBSONIC GLIDING FLIGHT b . .. by Jon S. Pyle h Flight Research Center Edwards, Cali$ 93523 NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, 0. C. MARCH 1971 TECH LIBRARY KAFB, NM I111111 11111 11111 11111 /Ill/lllll1111111111111 0333074 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. NASA TN D-6263 I 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date LIFT AND DRAG CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HL-10 LIFTING BODY March 1973­ DURING SUBSONIC GLIDING FLIGHT 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Jon S. Pyle H-608 10. Work Unit No. 727-00-00-01-24 ?- 9. Performing Organization Name and Address NASA Flight Research Center 11. Contract or Grant No. P. 0. Box 273 Edwards, California 93523 d 13. Type of Report and Period Covered 112. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address Technical Note National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Washington, D. C. 20546 15. Supplementary Notes 16. Abstract Subsonic lift and drag data obtained during the HL-10 lifting body glide flight program are presented for four configurations for angles of attack from 5" to 26" and Mach numbers from 0.35 to 0. 62. These flight data, where applicable, are compared with results from small-scale wind-tunnel tests of an HL-10 model, full-scale wind-tunnel results obtained with the flight vehicle, and flight results for the M2-F2 lifting body. The lift and drag characteristics obtained from the HL-10 flight results showed that a severe flow problem existed on the upper surface of the vehicle during the first flight test. This problem was corrected by modifying the leading edges of the tip fins. The vehicle attained lift-drag ratios as high as 4.0 during the landing flare (performed with the landing gear up), which is approximately 14 percent higher than demonstrated by the M2-F2 vehicle in similar maneuvers. 17. Key Words (Suggested by Author(s)) 18. Distribution Statement Lifting body - Lift-drag ratio - HL-10 vehicle - Flow separation Unclassified - Unlimited 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. NO. of Pages 22. Price* Unclassified I Unclassified 25 I $3.00 For Sale by the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151 LIFT AND DRAG CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HL-10 LIFTING BODY DURING SUBSONIC GLIDING FLIGHT Jon S. Pyle Flight Research Center INTRODUCTION The concept of manned entry vehicles capable of performing horizontal landings has been the subject of numerous theoretical and experimental studies. Among the many entry configurations studied, extensive wind-tunnel tests were performed to develop an entry shape designated the HL-10 (refs. 1to 5). In conjunction with these tests, a full-scale HL-10 lifting body vehicle was constructed for use in flight tests through the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic Mach number regions below 2.0. These flight tests are being performed to define the handling characteristics and the landing capability of the vehicle and to confirm the theoretical and wind-tunnel predictions of its stability, control, and performance characteristics. This paper defines the lift and drag characteristics of the HL-10 vehicle in four configurations over a Mach number range of 0.35 to 0.62 and at angles of attack from 5" to 26". The flight results, where applicable, are compared with full-scale and small-scale wind-tunnel results and the flight results obtained on an earlier manned lifting body entry vehicle, the M2-F2 (ref. 6). SYMBOLS Physical quantities in this report are given in the International System of Units (SI) and parenthetically in U. S. Customary Units. The measurements were taken in U. S. Customary Units. Details concerning the use of SI, together with physical v constants and conversion factors, are given in reference 7. nondimensional cross-sectional area, perpendicular to the vehicle longi­ tudinal axis a2 longitudinal acceleration, ratio of net aerodynamic force along the vehicle longitudinal axis to vehicle weight, g units an normal acceleration, ratio of net aerodynamic force normal to the vehicle longitudinal axis to vehicle weight, g units II Ill1 11l111l11l1l1l1111111ll1l1m11lIl1111111111 II I1 b vehicle span, meters (feet) D drag coefficient, CD -CIS dcD drag-due-to-lift factor 2 dCL L lift coefficient, - cL CIS lift-curve slope per degree acL C variation of lift coefficient with elevator deflection, -, per degree L6e Wan normal-force coefficient, - cN CIS Wa2 axial-force coefficient, - cX CIS D drag force along flight path, newtons (pounds) gravitational acceleration, 9.8 meters/second2 (32.2 feet/second2) L lift force normal to flight path, newtons (pounds) L - lift-drag ratio D M free-stream Mach number M’ indicated Mach number AM Mach-number error, M - M’ NRe Reynolds number, based on vehicle length 2 2 2 P corrected static pressure, newtondmeter (pounds/foot ) p' indicated static pressure from nose boom, newtons/meter2 (pounds/foo@) AP position error in static pressure, p' - 1, newtons/meter2 (pounds/foot2) cl dynamic pressur e, newtondmeter (pounds/foot2) P 2 S reference area, body planform, meters2 (feet ) W vehicle weight, kilograms (pounds) -X ratio of distance from nose of vehicle to an arbitrary point along longi­ 2 tudinal axis to total vehicle length CY true angle of attack, am + ACY+ ACY + ACYE + AaC, degrees P 4 measured angle of attack, degrees angle of attack correction at 0" angle of attack, due to angular difference between nose-boom incidence and the vehicle's longitudinal axis, degrees ACY angle-of-attack correction for effect of pitching rates on angle-of-attack 4 vane , degrees ACY angle-of-attack correction for nose-boom bending due to normal force, P 8 degrees ? angle-of-attack correction for effect of upwash factor on angle-of-attack vane, (x)A% am, degrees 6e elevon deflection, degrees 6sb speed-br ake deflection , degrees CJ root-mean-square error 3 Subscripts: max maximum mean average between right and left elevon deflections min minimum VEHICLE DESCRIPTION The HL-10 is a wingless. lifting configuration with a delta planform and negative camber . Heating was not a problem at the low Mach numbers of these flight tests. therefore aluminum was the primary material used to construct the vehicle's semi­ monocoque structure. The pertinent physical characteristics of the vehicle are pre­ sented in table 1. and photographs are shown in figures l(a) and (b). TABLE 1. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HL-10 VEHICLE Body . Reference planform area. meters2 (feet2)............... 14.9 (160) Length. meters (feet).......................... 6.45 (21. 17) Span. meters (feet) .......................... 4. 15 (13.6) bi Aspect ratio (basic vehicle). s ................... 1. 156 Weight. including pilot. kilograms (pounds) .............. 2722 (6000) Center of gravity. percentage of reference length ........... 51.8 Base area: Configuration A and B. meters2 (fee@)............... 1.38 (14. 83) Configuration C. meters2 (feet21 .................. 1.57 (16. 98) Configuration D. meters2 (fee@) .................. 2.71 (29. 13) Elevons (two) - Area. each. meters2 (feet2) ...................... 1.00 (10.72) Span. each. parallel to hinge line. meters (feet) ........... 1.09 (3.58) Chord. perpendicular to hinge line: Root. meters (feet) ......................... 0.59 (1.93) Tip. meters (feet) .......................... 1.24 (4. 06) Elevon flaps (two) - Area. each. meters2 (feet2) ...................... 0.70 (7.50) Span. each. parallel to hinge line. meters (feet) ........... 1.09 (3.58) Chord. perpendicular to hinge line: Root. meters (feet) ......................... 0.48 (1.58) Tip. meters (feet) .......................... 0.80 (2.63) Vertical stabilizer (one Area. meters2 (feed)- ......................... 1.47 (15. 8) Height. trailing edge. meters (feet) .................. 1.53 (5.02) Chord: Root. meters (feet) ......................... 1.32 (4.32) Tip. meters (feet) .......................... 0.60 (1.97) Leading-edge sweep. degrees ..................... 25 Rudders (two) - Area. each. meters2 (feet2) ...................... 0 . 41 (4.45) Height. each. meters (feet) ...................... 1.26 (4. 12) Chord. meters (feet) .......................... 0 . 33 (1.08) Outboard tip-fin flaps (two) - Area. each. meters2 (feet2) ...................... 0.35 (3.77) Height. hinge line. meters (feet).................... 1.37 (4.50) Chord. perpendicular to hinge line. meters (feet)........... 0.26 (0.84) Inboard tip-fin flaps (two) - Area. each. meters2 (feet2) ...................... 0.23 (2.48) Height. hinge line. meters (feet).................... 1.01 (3.31) Chord. perpendicular to hinge line. meters (feet)........... 0.23 (0.75) 4 (b) Gemdown. F@re 1. HL-IO vehicle. Figure 2 is a three-view drawing of the vehicle with dimensions and control sur­ faces specified. The elevons, which are the primary control surfaces, provide both pitch and roll control; the rudders , located on the center vertical stabilizer, provide directional control and function as speed brakes with symmetrical outward deflection. In addition to the primary control surfaces, secondary surfaces are located on the tip fins and the upper surfaces of the elevons. These secondary surfaces are used to change the vehicle configuration during flight and are adjustable by the pilot. 5 ers and Elevon flaps !ed brakes I I,___ I Elevons Longitudinal axis and horizontal reference Figure 2. Three-view drawing of HL-I
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