Preliminary Measurement of Pitch Damping of Blunt Entry Vehicles in a Subsonic Magnetic Suspension Wind Tunnel
Blunt bodies have been magnetically suspended in a 6-inch octagonal test-section low-subsonic wind tunnel in a free-to oscillate configuration. Capsule oscillations of two entry vehicle geometries were measured from high speed video of repeated test runs. An analytical solution to the 1degree-of-freedom equations of motion was fit to the measured oscillation histories to solve for a pitch damping coefficient. A six degree-of-freedom simulation was used to predict the wind tunnel data and assess the effect of magnetic forces on capsule dynamics. The predicted effect was used in the data reduction methodology to improved the pitch damping measurement. Pitch damping measurements are compared with heritage forced oscillation data and are in good agreement. Preliminary uncertainties are included with recommendations for improved data reduction.