Accelerometer-based Drag Measurement in a Shock Tunnel

Abstract

An accelerometer-based system was designed and constructed for drag measurement in a shock tunnel. Drag coefficient of a conical model was measured under a Mach 6 flow condition. A simple and intuitive calibration method was presented to compensate for the friction force of the drag measurement system, and the results of the measurement were compared with computational fluid dynamics in which the simple conical model was analyzed. The influence of drag measurement interference by supports of various shapes was identified and the design was presented to minimize. The drag coefficient measurement using the modified support showed that the error of the drag coefficient by the support was decreased.