Wind Tunnel and Propulsion Test Facilities

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All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure that they meet high standards for research quality and objectivity. 7IND4UNNELAND 0ROPULSION4EST&ACILITIES 3UPPORTING!NALYSESTOAN !SSESSMENTOF.!3!S #APABILITIESTO3ERVE .ATIONAL.EEDS 0HILIP3!NTØN $ANA**OHNSON -ICHAEL"LOCK -ICHAEL"ROWN *EFFREY$REZNER *AMES$RYDEN %UGENE#'RITTON 4OM(AMILTON 4HOR(OGAN 2ICHARD-ESIC $EBORAH0EETZ 2AJ2AMAN 0AUL3TEINBERG *OE3TRONG 7ILLIAM4RIMBLE 0REPAREDFORTHE.ATIONAL!ERONAUTICSAND3PACE!DMINISTRATIONAND THE/FFICEOFTHE3ECRETARYOF$EFENSE !PPROVEDFORPUBLICRELEASEDISTRIBUTIONUNLIMITED 4HERESEARCHDESCRIBEDINTHISREPORTWASPREPAREDFORTHE.ATIONAL!ERONAUTICSAND3PACE !DMINISTRATIONANDTHE/FFICEOFTHE3ECRETARYOF$EFENSE/3$ 4HERESEARCHWAS CONDUCTEDINTHE2!.$.ATIONAL$EFENSE2ESEARCH)NSTITUTE AFEDERALLYFUNDEDRESEARCH ANDDEVELOPMENTCENTERSUPPORTEDBYTHE/3$ THE*OINT3TAFF THEUNIFIEDCOMMANDS AND THEDEFENSEAGENCIESUNDER#ONTRACT$!37 # ,IBRARYOF#ONGRESS#ATALOGING IN 0UBLICATION$ATA 7INDTUNNELANDPROPULSIONTESTFACILITIESSUPPORTINGANALYSESTOANASSESSMENTOF.!3!SCAPABILITIESTOSERVE NATIONALNEEDS0HILIP3!NTON;ETAL= PCM h42 v )NCLUDESBIBLIOGRAPHICALREFERENCES )3". PBKALKPAPER 7INDTUNNELS5NITED3TATES.ATIONAL!ERONAUTICSAND3PACE!DMINISTRATION2ESEARCH !ERONAUTICS2ESEARCH5NITED3TATES!IRPLANES5NITED3TATES4ESTING!IRPLANES5NITED3TATES*ET PROPULSION)!NTN 0HILIP3 4,773UPPL gDC 4HE2!.$#ORPORATIONISANONPROFITRESEARCHORGANIZATIONPROVIDINGOBJECTIVEANALYSIS ANDEFFECTIVESOLUTIONSTHATADDRESSTHECHALLENGESFACINGTHEPUBLICANDPRIVATESECTORS AROUNDTHEWORLD2!.$SPUBLICATIONSDONOTNECESSARILYREFLECTTHEOPINIONSOFITSRESEARCH CLIENTSANDSPONSORS ®ISAREGISTEREDTRADEMARK Ú#OPYRIGHT2!.$#ORPORATION !LLRIGHTSRESERVED.OPARTOFTHISBOOKMAYBEREPRODUCEDINANYFORMBYANYELECTRONICOR MECHANICALMEANSINCLUDINGPHOTOCOPYING RECORDING ORINFORMATIONSTORAGEANDRETRIEVAL WITHOUTPERMISSIONINWRITINGFROM2!.$ 0UBLISHEDBYTHE2!.$#ORPORATION -AIN3TREET 0/"OX 3ANTA-ONICA #! 3OUTH(AYES3TREET !RLINGTON 6! .ORTH#RAIG3TREET 3UITE 0ITTSBURGH 0! 2!.$52,HTTPWWWRANDORG 4OORDER2!.$DOCUMENTSORTOOBTAINADDITIONALINFORMATION CONTACT $ISTRIBUTION3ERVICES4ELEPHONE &AX %MAILORDER RANDORG Preface This technical report provides detailed data, observations, and conclusions from a one-year study (from June 2002 through July 2003) examining the nation’s wind tunnel and propulsion testing needs and the continuing ability that National Aeronautic and Space Admini- stration’s (NASA’s) major wind tunnel (WT) and propulsion test (PT) facilities1 have in serving those needs, identifying new investments needed and any excess capacities within NASA. This report should be of interest to those in the research development test and evaluation community in NASA, the Department of Defense, and the aerospace industry seeking detailed insights into national needs for WT/PT facility testing, NASA’s facilities, and technical considerations for selected non-NASA facilities important to national needs. The report serves as a companion and supports the following monograph: Antón, Philip S., Richard Mesic, Eugene C. Gritton, and Paul Steinberg, with Dana J. Johnson, Michael Block, Michael Brown, Jeffrey Drezner, James Dryden, Tom Hamilton, Thor Hogan, Deborah Peetz, Raj Raman, Joe Strong, and William Trimble, Wind Tunnel and Propulsion Test Facilities: An Assessment of NASA’s Capabilities to Meet National Needs, Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation, MG-178-NASA/OSD, 2004 (referred throughout this report as Anton et al., 2004[MG]). The study was funded by NASA and jointly sponsored by NASA and the office of the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E). It was conducted within the RAND National Defense Research Institute’s (NDRI’s) Acquisition and Technology Policy Center. NDRI is a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the unified commands, and the defense agencies. ____________ 1 Throughout this report, we use the term “WT/PT facilities” to mean wind tunnel facilities and propulsion test facilities, that is, the type of NASA facilities we assessed. Since individual facilities within this designation can be either wind tunnel facilities, propulsion test facilities, or both, “WT/PT facilities” serves as a generic term to encompass them all. That being said, when a specific facility is talked about, for clarity, we refer to it as a proper name and, if necessary, include its function (e.g., Ames 12-Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel). As well, the term “test facilities” and “facilities” can be substituted to mean “WT/PT facilities.” Of course, NASA owns and operates other types of test facilities outside of WT/PT facilities, but our conclusions and recommendations do not apply to them. iii Contents Preface ..................................................................................................iii Figures ..................................................................................................ix Tables...................................................................................................xi Summary ............................................................................................. xiii Acknowledgments .....................................................................................xix Abbreviations ..........................................................................................xxi CHAPTER ONE Introduction............................................................................................ 1 Approach ............................................................................................... 1 Perspectives on the Approach ....................................................................... 2 Scope of the Study...................................................................................... 3 WT/PT Facility Management Issues ................................................................... 4 The Effects of NASA’s Center-Centric Organization on WT/PT Facility Support ................ 4 The Effects of Current Low Utilization on Facility Financial Status ............................... 5 Periodic Reviews of Facility Health ................................................................. 6 Additional Cost/Benefit Perspectives................................................................ 6 Organizational Structure of This Technical Report.................................................... 8 CHAPTER TWO National Wind Tunnel and Propulsion Test Facility Needs and NASA’s Primary Facilities Serving These Needs .............................................................................. 9 Strategic Needs Drive Vehicle Research and Production .............................................. 9 Vehicle Research and Production Result in Test Facilities Needs ..................................... 9 Technical Needs and Vehicle Types Differ by Sector: NASA, DoD, and Commercial ........... 11 Research, Design, and Production Issues for Vehicles ............................................. 12 Testing Needs Covered a Broad Range of Test Types ............................................. 14 Specific Testing Needs Today...................................................................... 15 Flow Physics Situations and Issues for Aerospace Testing ......................................... 16 Hypersonic Propulsion Integration Needs ......................................................... 18 Identifiable Needs in Existing Test Plans .......................................................... 20 Complementary Testing Approaches and Their Effect on Test Facilities: Computational Fluid Dynamics and Flight Testing .................................................................... 22 CFD Has Reduced Some WT/PT Facility Testing Needs, but Only in Specific Areas ........... 22 Flight Testing Remains Unfeasible for Design Data Needs for Most Vehicles .................... 23 Factors Influencing Actual Facility Utilizations ......................................................

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