Atmospheric Reentry Modeling and Simulation

The analysis, being overpredictivebut simple and fast, was then applied to six other sabot models, as given in Figs. 9 and 10, to examine their relative lifting capability. These sabot models and dimensions were generated by the PRODAS code. These sabots are for both the 120and 105-mm calibers, as provided in Table 2. Note that sabotmodel 3 has four petals insteadof the more common three-petal design. All calculationswere made at Mach 4.5 and the same conditions.The resulting front bourreletnormal force on each petalmodel is shown in Fig. 11. Sabot models and their corresponding normal forces are provided in Table 2. These predicted forces are to be considered overestimated, possibly by a factor of about 1.6 (based on the CFD results for model 1). An actual test is recommended to be made to provide a validity for the CFD results as well. Meanwhile, the comparative results for the different sabot conŽ gurationsprovide some insight about the relative effectiveness of different front bourrelet designs in producing lift.