Risk Mitigation Study for Instrumentation Layout Along Wing Leading Edge of 1.8% Scale Space Shuttle Model Using TSP

As part of an ongoing study to categorically define the wing leading edge heating rates during re-entry for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, testing has begun at the Aerothermal AeroOptics Evaluation Center (AAEC) in the LENS I hypersonic shock tunnel facility in which the full test program is defined by two major phases. Phase I, which has been completed and is the scope of this paper, consisted of the design, fabrication and testing of a 1.8%-scale Orbiter model employing Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP) to define locations of peak heating. In addition to the TSP, a Macor piece instrumented with thin-film heat transfer gauges were also installed on the opposite wing at a location representative of RCC panels 8-12 as a means of obtaining limited quantitative measurements. Due to a lack of current experimental data regarding locations of peak heating along the wing leading edge, the TSP tests were done as a risk mitigation study for placement of a densely instrumented suite of thin-film gauges to acquire quantitative heat transfer rates along the wing leading edge during Phase II of this program. The TSP and limited thin-film test results presented in this paper show how the peak heating location changes with respect to Mach number, angle of attack and yaw for both the chordwise and spanwise directions along the wing. From the experimental data set collected, recommendations are presented as to suitable locations for the placement of a full arsenal of thin-film gauges for Phase II of this study.