Initial Test of a Wire Suspension Mount for Missile Virtual Flight Testing

A wire suspension system to enable wind tunnel Virtual Flight Testing of missile models has been designed, built, and tested. This prototype used six steel cables to suspend a model-mounting collar in the tunnel. The collar contained a three-axis ball-bearing pivot to enable roll, pitch, and yaw motion. Tension load cells in each of the cables allowed measurement of forces on the model. This paper describes the design of the system, mathematical prediction of its dynamic behavior, laboratory and calibration experience, and low-speed wind-tunnel demonstration experiments. One set of experiments provided vibration measurements for comparison to the mathematical models. For some laboratory tests, the system was fitted with a feedback-controlled motor to augment the damping. This device could be used as a safety feature when testing in unstable flight regimes. The experiments showed the viability of a wire suspension system, but future versions will require a number of improvements, particularly in the force measurement subsystems.