Compression Pad Cavity Heating Augmentation on Orion Heat Shield

Abstract

An experimental study has been conducted to assess the effects of compression pad cavities on the aeroheating environment of the Project Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle heat shield. Testing was conducted in Mach 6 and 10 perfect-gas wind tunnels to obtain heating measurements in and around the compression pads cavities using global phosphor thermography. Data were obtained over a wide range of Reynolds numbers that produced laminar, transitional, and turbulent flow within and downstream of the cavities. The effects of cavity dimensions on boundary-layer transition and heating augmentation levels were studied. Correlations were developed for transition onset and for the average cavity-heating augmentation.