Multi-dimensional interrelation theoryfor hypersonic wind-tunnel experimental data and its correlationalgorithm

The progress on the ground to flight data correlation of aerodynamic forces and heat transfer for hypersonic vehicles is reviewed in this paper. The research approach and its limitation of the existing correlation methods are examined and discussed. In order to improve the performance of the data correlation, a new universal method so called the multi-dimensioanl interrelation theory, is proposed from which the nature of the wind-tunnel experimental data is revealed. Based on this theory, a correlation algorithm based on functional optimization is also developed to detect the inherent relations that, underly the multi-dimensional wind-tunnel experimental data. The practicability of the multi-dimensional interrelation theory, the capability of the proposed correlation algorithm and the accuracy of the obtained correlation fanctions are then examined and demonstrated respectively, with several typical test cases. These research results indicate that the multi-dimensional interrelation theory agrees well with physical phenomena, and its correlation algorithm can make use of hypersonic wind-tunnel experimental data effectively and the correlation function is capable of representing the underlying law of the experimental data in an analytical form. With the proposed theory and algorithm, one can expect to find a reliable correlation function with high accuracy for a given set of wind-tunnel experimental data. And such the progress on the ground to flight data correlation is of significant importance for developing advanced hypersonic vehicles.