Computational Assessment of Facility Wall Loads for Large Parachute Testing in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 80- by 120-foot Wind Tunnel

摘要

Arnold Engineering Development Complex recently partnered with experts from NASA, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to utilize Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations to help better understand the loading imparted on the facility during testing of the NASA/JPL Mars 2020 parachute in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex 80-by 120-foot Wind Tunnel. Flow conditions were simulated in the test section with and without the parachute and results were compared against measured data obtained during the test program. This work details the first steps towards validating a method to produce pre-test predictions of facility-model wake interactions. Results showed that the analysis produced reasonable and valid predictions. This work will facilitate the development of a more robust and comprehensive simulation capability that will not only help to ensure operational safety, but also provide better utility to future test customers in performing pre-test performance predictions to help contextualize data obtained in test.