Title:
Preliminary Design Study of Asymmetric Hypersonic
Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators for Mars Entry
Preliminary Design Study of Asymmetric Hypersonic
Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators for Mars Entry
Author(s)
Harper, Brooke P.
Advisor(s)
Braun, Robert D.
Editor(s)
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Abstract
The Mars missions envisioned in the future require payload mass in excess of the current
capable limit for entry vehicle technology. Deployable Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic
Decelerators offer one solution to successfully improve drag performance and reduce
ballistic coefficient to mitigate entry, descent, and landing concerns as payload mass
increases. The majority of the research that has been conducted on these structures thus far
only focuses on axisymmetric geometries. In this investigation, aerodynamic and
aerothermodynamic performance is examined for three proposed asymmetric families that
can generate non-zero lift-to-drag ratios at 0° angle of attack and are compared to a
symmetric counterpart. Ideal results include favorable lift-to-drag ratios with reduced
ballistic coefficients. The blunt, asymmetric Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator
designs considered are assembled from stacked tori configurations with a base diameter of
20 m and the capability to interface with a 10 m diameter rigid center body. The
configurations reviewed are capable of producing hypersonic lift-to-drag ratios between ~0.1
and ~0.6 for angles of attack ranging from -30° to 20°. A 40 Mt entry mass, approximate
mass of large robotic or human scale mission is assumed. Advantageous ballistic coefficient
data is retrieved for some asymmetric geometries. All HIAD configurations are determined
to be statically stable as well. An initial assessment of the aerothermodynamic response
predicts significant heating with radiative heating being much greater than convective
heating. From the analyses completed thus far, encouraging results project asymmetric
Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerators as conceivable candidates for future large
scale Mars missions
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Date Issued
2014-04-28
Extent
Resource Type
Text
Resource Subtype
Masters Project
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