Sounding Rocket Boost Phase Gust Angle of Attack

Charles P. Hoult
1
California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, California 90840
This paper derives approximate angle of attack statistics suitable for boost phase structural
loading estimates on unguided, fin-stabilied sounding rockets! Sounding rockets are assumed to lift
off "ith a large constant vertical acceleration! Their rigid bod# rotations are modeled as undamped
short period motions "ithout an# velocit# vector rotation$ the onl# source of pitch%#a" tor&ues is via
aerod#namic static stabilit#! The vertical acceleration causes the d#namic pressure to increase
rapidl# leading to time-var#ing coefficients in the short period e&uations, and, therefore, gust
responses that re&uire nonstationar# anal#ses! Transforming the independent variable from time to
altitude enables calculation of a simple lateral velocit# sinusoidal gust impulse response function!
'ext, the total response for a single instantiation is found b# superposition of all its gust impulses!
Then, convolution to find the variance in transverse velocit# is found based on the (r#den gust
autocorrelations! A closed form result for the standard deviation in boost phase gust angle of attack
is obtained and compared "ith both its high altitude as#mptote and the classical sharp-edged )step
function* gust response! At altitudes above about t"o pitch "avelengths the as#mptote provides an
accurate result "hile the classical sharp-edged gust model significantl# underestimates the gust
response except for regions ver# near the ground!
Nomenclature

a !"ial acceleration, #$s
%

1
!&'unct Professor, (e)art#ent of *echanical an& !eros)ace +ngineering, 1%,0 Bellflo-er Blv&., Long
Beach C! 90840. !.!! *e#/er
1

M
C

+ Pitch #o#ent coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to angle of
attac0, ra&
11

N
C
+ 2a- #o#ent coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to angle of
si&esli), ra&
11

q M
C
Pitch #o#ent coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to
3 % $ 4 U d
Y
,ra&
11


Z
C
5 force coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to angle of attac0,
ra&
11

Nr
C 2a- #o#ent coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to
3 % $ 4 U d
Z
,ra&
11


Y
C
2 force coefficient &erivative -ith res)ect to angle of si&esli),
ra&
11
d !ero&yna#ic reference length /o&y &ia#eter, #


Z
F 6 co#)onent of e"ternal force
h !ltitu&e, #
6 !ltitu&e &u##y varia/le, #
7
P
I *o#ent of inertia a/out the )itch or ya- a"is, 0g1#
%

L
Launcher length, #

G
l Longitu&inal tur/ulence scale length, #
l
8
G
Pseu&o transverse tur/ulence scale length, #

Y
M y co#)onent of e"ternal #o#ent
m 9oc0et #ass, 0g

q
(yna#ic )ressure, 0g$#
%

R
!utocorrelation function, #
%
$s
%
%
S !ero&yna#ic reference area,

#
%
t :i#e fro# liftoff, s
U !"ial 4" a"is3 velocity, #$s

G
V ;in& 4gust3 velocity in the 6 &irection, #$s

Z
V + .nertial velocity in the 6 &irection, #$s
", y, 6 Bo&y fi"e& a"es, " 4roll3 along the a"is of sy##etry, y an& 6
4)itch < ya-3 for#ing an orthogonal tria&
!ngle of attac0, ra&

G
:ransverse tur/ulence 4gust3 reci)rocal scale length, #
11

P
+ Pitch$ya- -ave nu#/er, ra&$#

+ !t#os)heric #ass &ensity, 0g$#

=

G
+ Stan&ar& &eviation in -in& 4gust3 velocity, #$s

Planar stan&ar& &eviation in angle of attac0, ra&

Y
!ngular rates a/out the )itch a"is, ra&$sec
4 3o >alue of 4 3 at the ti#e of se)aration fro# the launcher
? @ +nse#/le average of ? @
var 4 3 variance of 4 3 #ean sAuare of 4 3 ? 4 4 3 B ? 4 3 @3
%
@
Cote that the right han& rule is the sign convention use& for #o#ents an& angular rates.
,ntroduction
:he #ain #otivation /ehin& this analysis is esti#ation of soun&ing roc0et /oost )hase structural loa&s.
Soun&ing roc0et structural loa&s are &riven /y t-o 0in&s of )ertur/ation, those &ue to the various structural
#isalign#ents that are /est consi&ere& in a /o&y1fi"e& fra#e, an& those &ue to at#os)heric #otions that
are #ost easily analy6e& in an +arth1fi"e& fra#e. !t#os)heric #otions, in turn, have t-o very &ifferent
varieties, syno)tic scale -in&s an& gusts
1,%
. :he at#os)heric #otions &ue to -eather are calle& -in&s. Dor
the #ost )art, -in&s ten& to /lo- in a nearly hori6ontal &irection. :hey are characteri6e& /y correlation
=
over large &istance scales, often thousan&s of 0#, an& slo- te#)oral rates of change over several &ays.
:he other variety of #otion, gusts, arise fro# tur/ulent #i"ing -ithin the at#os)here. ;hen re#ote fro#
the groun&, gusts are three1&i#ensional, an& co##only isotro)ic. :heir correlation &istance scale is only
hun&re&s of #eters, an& their te#)oral correlation scale is tens of secon&s.
Soun&ing roc0ets initially encounter syno)tic scale 4-eather3 -in&s at the /otto# of the )lanetary
/oun&ary layer -here their velocities are s#all
1
. :herefore, -in&s can /e safely neglecte& in esti#ating
/oost )hase structural loa&s. En the other han&, /ase& on e")erience
=
, at#os)heric gusts are the &o#inant
earth1fi"e& )ertur/ations influencing soun&ing roc0et structural loa&s. :ur/ulence 4#i"ing3 can /e
es)ecially intense lo- in the )lanetary /oun&ary layer, thus lea&ing to significant structural loa&ing in the
early )hases of roc0et flight.
:his analysis is in three )artsF Dirst, the res)onse to an i#)ulsive gust is foun& /y integrating the
a))ro"i#ate eAuations of #otion. :hese are linear -ith ti#e1varying coefficients &ue to the ra)i& increase
of &yna#ic )ressure i##e&iately after launch. Changing the in&e)en&ent varia/le fro# ti#e to altitu&e
generates eAuations -ith constant coefficients. :he res)onse to an i#)ulsive gust is then esti#ate&.
Secon&, gust statistics are &escri/e& as gaussian, fro6en, isotro)ic an& stationary -ith an a))ro"i#ate
(ry&en autocorrelation function
1,4
. :he (ry&en autocorrelation function is use& /ecause, -hile e#)irical,
it is si#)le in for#, an& it ca)tures gust /ehavior reasona/ly -ell. :he assu#)tion of a fro6en tur/ulence
fiel& is easy to 'ustify /ecause roc0ets accelerate through the at#os)here #uch faster than gusts evolve.
:hir&, the i#)ulse res)onse an& autocorrelation function are convolve& to esti#ate the gust angle of attac0
stan&ar& &eviation.
:his is a si#)lifie& analysis. :he ulti#ate rationale for its a&o)tion is that the angle of attac0 res)onse
&e)en&s on gust 4not -in&3 velocity statistics -hich are 0no-n to /e functions of location, season an&
at#os)heric syno)tic state
1
. Since there is little or no long ter# a )riori launch &ay 0no-le&ge of so#e of
these varia/les, there is no great value in using a highly accurate #o&els if the result is necessarily
corru)te& /y inaccurate environ#ental 0no-le&ge. Classically, gust res)onses have /een #o&ele& using a
shar)1e&ge& ste) function or a 1 B cosine function. But, no such &eter#inistic gusts are foun& in nature. .t
follo-s that res)onses esti#ate& fro# such gust #o&els shoul& /e vie-e& -ith very lo- confi&ence. :he
4
)ur)ose of this )a)er then is to &evelo) a si#)le, easy1to1use, )hysics1/ase& esti#ate of soun&ing roc0et
/oost )hase gust res)onse statistics.

Impulsive Gust Response
:he coor&inate fra#e use& in this analysis, sho-n in Dig. 1, is earth1fi"e& in roll, /ut allo-e& to )itch
an& ya- -ith the roc0et /o&y. .ts origin follo-s the roc0et center of #ass as it accelerates un&er the
influence of thrust. :he 0ey i&ea is to 0ee) the earth1fi"e& )ertur/ing effects, syno)tic -in&s an& gusts, in
an invariant )lane in the coor&inate syste#.
-ig! . /oordinate -rame

x
#

,
:he 0ey assu#)tions areF Dirst, the roc0et configuration can /e characteri6e& as slen&er -ith )itch1
ya- sy##etry. :he roc0etGs roll #o#ent of inertia is negligi/ly s#all co#)are& to the )itch$ya- #o#ent
of inertia /ecause its fineness ratio is 1% to %0, an& the )itch #o#ent of inertia over the roll #o#ent of
inertia H fineness ratio sAuare&. Ce"t,
Y
an& are /oth s#all co#)are& to unityIsoun&ing roc0et
short )erio& #otions are &yna#ically very linear -ith a fe- star0, shoc0ing e"ce)tions such as roll loc01in.
:he only significant aero&yna#ic )itch$ya- #o#ents an& forces are those &ue to static sta/ility 4
M
C
<
N
C
3. !ccor&ing to +t0in
,
, if the roll #o#ent of inertia is negligi/ly s#all co#)are& to the )itch$ya-
#o#ents of inertia, the &yna#ic eAuations of #otion then &ecou)le into a )itch set an& a ya- set, thus
greatly si#)lifying the analysis. :he co#)onent of gravity along the y an& 6 a"es #ay /e neglecte&
/ecause -e have i#)licitly restricte& our attention to short )erio& #otion, an& gravity, a)art fro# its affect
on a"ial acceleration, can /e neglecte& as it )ri#arily influences the tra'ectory itself 4)hugoi& #o&e3.
!lso, the roc0etGs short )erio& &a#)ing, -hile )ositive, al#ost vanishes, that is, ter#s in
q M
C
,
Z
C
,
Nr
C ,
Y
C
an& 'et &a#)ing #ay /e neglecte&. (irect nu#erical analysis of several ty)ical
soun&ing roc0et configurations
=
sho-s that their short )erio& &a#)ing is usually less than 1J of critical.
:he neglecte& &a#)ing ter#s are not literally 6eroK theyGre #erely very tiny. :he s#all short )erio&
&a#)ing ensures that the effects of a gust can /e o/serve& ringing long after the original encounter. !
si#)le calculation sho-s that, for &a#)ing eAual to a/out 1J of critical, it -ill ta0e al#ost t-o )itch
-avelengths for a transient gust res)onse to lose 10J of its a#)litu&e. .n other -or&s, since the actual
short )erio& &a#)ing is usually less than 1J of critical, as long as -e restrict ourselves to altitu&es near the
launcher, neglecting short )erio& &a#)ing ought to /e a fairly goo& a))ro"i#ation.
! large, constant a"ial acceleration i#)lies the eAuations have )rofoun&ly ti#e1varying coefficients.
Changes in roc0et #ass, air &ensity, center of gravity shifts, an& *ach no. &riven variations in sta/ility
&erivatives are neglecte& leaving the change in &yna#ic )ressure as the &o#inant cause of ti#e1varying
coefficients.
+t0in
,
)rovi&es the source for the roc0etGs eAuations of #otion. Start -ith the assu#e& solution for
constant accelerationF
L
h a t a U % = = 413
:hen, the a))ro"i#ate short )erio& )itching an& )lunging eAuations, -ritten for non1rolling a"es other-ise
fi"e& to a rigi& /o&y, can /e rea&ily foun&
,
neglecting )itching an& )lunging &a#)ingF
3 4 $
U
V
qSdC dt d I M
G
M Y P Y
= =

, an&
4%3
0 $ $ = =
Y Z Z
U dt dV m F .
Use the custo#ary &efinitions of the angle of attac0, U V
Z
$ , an& of the &yna#ic )ressure,
%
%
1
U q = , to fin& that
3 4
%
1
$
G Z M Y P
V V U C d S dt d I =

, an&
4=3
0 $ =
Y Z
U dt dV .
!n i#)ortant si#)lification results fro# changing the in&e)en&ent varia/le fro# ti#e to &istance along the
flight )ath -hich, if vertical flight is assu#e&, a#ounts to altitu&e. Use the chain rule to o/tain linear
eAuations of #otion -ith constant coefficients )er Hoult
L
F

dh d U dt dh dh d dt d $ $ $ $ = =
.
:henF
M
3 4
%
1
$
G Z M Y P
V V C d S dh d I =

, an&
0 $ =
Y Z
dh dV .
(efine the )itch -ave nu#/er
P
in ra&ians )er #eterF

P M P
I C d S $
%
1
%

= .77000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
443N
;ith this, -e have
3 4 $
%
G Z P Y
V V dh d = , an&
4,3
0 $ =
Y Z
dh dV .
+li#inate
Y
fro# this )air to fin&

G P Z P Z
V V dh V d
% % % %
$ = + . 4L3
Ce"t, solutions to eA. 4L3 are nee&e& for an ar/itrary gust )rofile 3 4h V
G
. Co-, su))ose 3 4h V
G
vanishes every-here e"ce)t for in an infinitesi#al slice of altitu&e starting at altitu&e

an& en&ing
slightly higher at altitu&e dh + . Su))ose the gust i#)ulse a#)litu&e in this altitu&e region is
G
V
!
:hen i#)ulsive gust solution to eA.4L3, vali& for altitu&es h a/ove

is

33 4 sin4 3 4 = h V V
P G P Z
.
4M3
8
(eco#)ose any ar/itrary gust )rofile 3 4h V
G
into a set of layere& i#)ulse functions. :hen, /ecause eA.
4L3 is linear, the total 3 4h V
Z
is 'ust a su)er)osition of all the gust i#)ulses acting at altitu&es /elo- hF
d h V h V
P
h
L
G P Z
33 4 sin4 3 4 3 4 =

483
Gust Phenomenolog#
.n general, a )o-er s)ectral &ensity )lot of the at#os)heric -in& fiel&
%
-ill sho- t-o #a'or )ea0s
associate& -ith )rocesses for tur/ulence 4gusts3 an& -eather 4syno)tic scale -in&s3. Syno)tic scale -in&s
are constraine& /y gravity to lie in the hori6ontal )lane -hile gusts ten& to /e fully three &i#ensional an&
isotro)ic -hen not too close to the groun&. :y)ical &istance scales are 4000 0# for -eather an& L00 #
outsi&e the )lanetary /oun&ary layer for gusts. Dour te#)oral or&ers of #agnitu&e also se)arate these
)rocesses. !lthough /oth are of interest to a roc0et engineer, gusts usually contri/ute significantly #ore to
the angle of attac0 res)onse.
Co-, consi&er the issue of stationarity. Dor #any aeros)ace a))lications 4aircraft an& large roc0ets3 it
is reasona/le to assu#e stationary statistical )rocesses, an& to e")loit the /enefits of freAuency &o#ain
analyses. Soun&ing roc0ets, ho-ever, are a /ree& a)art. :heir large a"ial acceleration i#)lies large
changes in flight con&ition -hile ringing fro# earlier gusts is still ha))ening. :herefore, a non1stationary
analysis is reAuire&. :hat is, -e #ust -or0 -ith autocorrelation functions rather than )o-er s)ectral
&ensity functions to &escri/e gust statistics.
(uring ;; .., (ry&en
4
sho-e& e#)irically that the longitu&inal autocorrelation function for -in&
tunnel tur/ulence coul& /e accurately &escri/e& /y a si#)le e")onential function of the se)aration &istance
together -ith Oaussian statistics. .t shoul& /e note& that the (ry&en )o-er s)ectral &ensity 4PS(3 has an
asy#)totic log1log slo)e of B%. Later, Pol#ogorov
,
sho-e& /y a))lying &i#ensional analysis to
tur/ulence casca&es that the asy#)totic log1log slo)e shoul& /e B,$=. *uch of the availa/le e#)irical &ata
-oul& fit either #o&el eAually -ell. :he clincher is that the inverse Dourier transfor# of the Pol#ogorov
PS( 4to fin& the autocorrelation function3 yiel&s &ifficult1to1use Bessel functions
,
. :he (ry&en e")onential
9
autocorrelation is si#)le, easy1to1use, an& has therefore /een chosen for this analysis. +ven though
(ry&enGs original research is al#ost M0 years ol&, it is still useful for gust res)onse analyses
1,,
. Ho-ever,
for the current a))lication
1,,
, the transverse autocorrelation function 4relation /et-een t-o gust velocities
nor#al to the un)ertur/e& velocity vector3 is -hatGs nee&e&. Dortunately, Batchelor
M
)rovi&e& a si#)le
relationshi) /et-een the t-o, vali& for inco#)ressi/le flo-.
:he tur/ulent gust #o&el use& here assu#es that gusts can /e &escri/e& -ith each velocity co#)onent
having a one &i#ensional Oaussian )ro/a/ility &istri/ution -ith 6ero #ean. :he three orthogonal velocity
co#)onents are all statistically in&e)en&ent. ;e -ill assu#e that the tur/ulence is isotro)ic, that is, its
)ro)erties are the sa#e in all &irections, even though this is not strictly true -ithin the )lanetary /oun&ary
layer. :ur/ulence is assu#e& ho#ogeneous, that is, its statistics are the sa#e every-here, an& it is
stationary -ith no te#)oral variation in its )ro)erties.
;hen analy6ing vehicles flying through a tur/ulence fiel& at high s)ee&s, tur/ulence can /e #o&ele&
as fro6en, that is, its )ro)erties &o not change significantly -hile the roc0et flies fro# one altitu&e to a
higher one. :hen, te#)oral correlations can /e neglecte& leaving only s)atial ones.
.n a longitu&inal gust autocorrelation function, the t-o velocities are se)arate& an& collinear, -hile for
a transverse gust autocorrelation function, the t-o velocities are )arallel /ut offset fro# each other. :he
(ry&en longitu&inal gust autocorrelation function is
1,4,,
3 $ e")4
%
G G
l x R = ,
493
an& the corres)on&ing transverse gust autocorrelation function, o/taine& using BatchelorGs theore#
M
, is
3 $
%
1
1 4 3 $ e")4
%
G G G
l z l z R = .
4103
10
Here, x an&
z
are the a/solute values of the longitu&inal an& transverse se)aration &istances /et-een
the t-o )oints -hose velocities are correlate&. Since roc0ets fly nearly vertically, only the t-o hori6ontal
vector co#)onents cause significant aero&yna#ic loa&s, an& they are statistically in&e)en&ent
1,,
, each -ith
the sa#e autocorrelation function given /y eA. 4103.
!s suggeste&
1
, for the s#all argu#ents co##only encountere& in s#all soun&ing roc0et -or0, the
transverse autocorrelation function loo0s a lot li0e the longitu&inal function -ith 0.,9" the tur/ulence scale
&istance. .n any case, /ecause use of the (ry&en function can only /e 'ustifie& /y its close #atch to the
e")eri#ental &ata, this further a))ro"i#ation -ill give acce)ta/ly accurate results. :hen, the )seu&o scale
&istance for transverse correlation is

G G
l l ,9 . 0
8
.
4113

Digure % sho-s that this is a fairly close a))ro"i#ation. Here 9 +"act is given /y eA. 4103 -hile 9
!))ro" is given /y eA. 493, /ut -ith the #o&ifie& correlation scale &istance of eA. 4113.
-ig! 1 Transverse Autocorrelation -unction normalied b# the gust velocit# variance
11
:he final issue is ho- to Auantify the )ara#eters
G
an&
G
. 9eference 1 is a #o&ern co#)ilation
of ho- these vary -ith their conte"tual situation. :hese also vary significantly through the )lanetary
/oun&ary layer as &escri/e& in reference 8. !/sent #ore s)ecific insights, one coul& ta0e ty)ical values
1,8

a/ove %00 # altitu&e in the )lanetary /oun&ary layer asF
G
7 1 #$s, an&
=00 =
G
l #.
:hen, =
G
=00 #
11
0.00==== #
11
4longitu&inal3 an& 3 =00 8 ,9 . 0 $4 1
8
m
G
0.00,L,0 #
11

4transverse3.
Gust Response Statistics
Dirst, since gusts have 6ero #ean velocity
1,,
, i.e., 0 3 4 >= < h V
G
, the #ean gust angle of attac0 at any
altitu&e -ill vanish. Ho-ever, the variance &oes not vanish. :his situation is analogous to a &run0ar&Gs
ran&o# -al0 on a si&e-al0. :here is a fifty1fifty chance that each of his ste)s -ill /e to the right 4or left3.
!fter a large nu#/er of ste)s he -ill, on average, not have travelle& a-ay fro# his starting )oint. But the
variance 4#ean sAuare3 in the &istance travelle& is in&e)en&ent of right vs. left, an& it continues to increase
-ithout /oun&. Soun&ing roc0et gust res)onse statistics /ehave e"actly the sa#e -ay.
Using the i#)ulse res)onse function an& the a))ro"i#ate (ry&en transverse gust autocorrelation
function, the gust lateral velocity variance is foun& in a straightfor-ar& -ay. Begin /y recalling that
G
V
is the &ifference /et-een the full gust velocity an& its ense#/le #ean. :hen for# the variance /y sAuaring
eA. 483, an& for#ing its ense#/le averageF
> < =

d h V d h V h V
p
h
L
G p
h
L
G p z
33 4 sin4 3 4 8 33 4 sin4 3 4 33 4 var4
%
1%
Co-, -e #ust carry out three o)erations, #ulti)lication, integration 4su##ing3 over the altitu&e region
an& ense#/le averaging. By e"ercising care, the or&er in -hich these three o)erations are )erfor#e& can
/e varie&. Begin /y e")ressing the integrals as the li#it of su#s, an& #ulti)lying the# together, ter# /y
ter#. Ce"t, for# the ense#/le average of every )ro&uct ter# in the &ou/le su#, noting that the (ry&en
correlation function &e)en&s on the a/solute value of the se)aration &istance. Before integration, e"a#ine
Dig. = carefully. +very )ro&uct ter# at 3 , 4 on one si&e of the 4,Q line is #atche& /y another on the
o))osite si&e having the sa#e value. :hus, the integral over the sha&e& region of Dig. = has the sa#e value
as that over the clear region, an& it is only necessary to integrate over the sha&e& area in Dig. = an& #ulti)ly
/y %. .n the sha&e& region,

-ill al-ays /e R , thus re#oving the nee& to consi&er a/solute values in

integration.
1=

-ig! 2 ,ntegration Region

Dinally, )ass /ac0 to the li#it to o/tain
d h H dH H h h V
p
h
H
G
h
L
p G p z
33 4 sin4 33 4 e")4 8 33 4 sin4 % 33 4 var4
8 % %
=


41%3
!fter integration, -e o/tain
33ST 4 cos4 33 4 sin4 U 8 33 4 e")4
%
%
33 4 4 sin 33 4 % sin4
%
3 4 V 33 4 var4
8 8
% 8 %
% 8 %
%
%
8
8
% 8 %
% %
L h L h L h
L h L h L h h V
p p p G G
G p
p
G p
p
p p
p
G
G
G P
G P
z
+
+

+
+
+
=

41=3
Dinally, the )lanar 4single co#)onent3 gust angle of attac0 stan&ar& &eviation is 'ust
L
L
h
h
h
H

14

U
h V
z
33 4 var4
=

4143
:he conseAuences of eA. 4143 can easily /e e")lore& nu#erically. Dor e"a#)le, ta0e
8
G

+ 0.00,L,
ra&$# 4
G
l =00 #3, the )lanar gust velocity stan&ar& &eviation
G
1 #$s, a ty)ical )itch -avelength
%44 # 4WP + 0.0%,MM ra&$#3, the launcher length L + 4.,M # an& the a"ial acceleration a 4.LL g..
:hese nu#/ers are ty)ical for s#all soun&ing roc0ets
=
. Ce"t, )lot the angle of attac0 as a function of
altitu&e as sho-n /elo- in Dig. 4. !/ove altitu&es of a/out t-o )itch$ya- -avelengths, the angle of attac0
is seen to a))roach an asy#)totic value. :his asy#)tote can /e easily foun& to /e

3 4 %
li#
% 8 %
% 8 %
G p
G G p
h
a

+
=

41,3
:hus, Dig. 4 sho-s that the ty)ical asy#)totic )lanar stan&ar& &eviation in gust angle of attac0 is a/out
0.008 ra&. H X &eg. Cu#erical stu&ies
=
have sho-n this result to /e insensitive to the )itch -ave nu#/er.
Lastly, co#)are these results -ith the classical shar)1e&ge& 4ste) function3 gust res)onse. .gnoring
any initial overshoot, this /eco#es,

ah
G
%

= . 41L3
:he shar)1e&ge& gust res)onse is sho-n in Dig. 4.
1,
-ig! 3 Standard (eviation in Planar Gust Angle of Attack

(iscussion
Several re#ar0s are no- a))ro)riate. :he soun&ing roc0et /oost )hase gust angle of attac0 #o&el in
this )a)er relies on several 0ey assu#)tions. :he #ost i#)ortant inclu&e neglecting short )erio& &a#)ing
an& the use of an a))ro"i#ate isotro)ic tur/ulence #o&el for flight in the )lanetary /oun&ary layer. +rrors
&ue to these t-o can /e roughly esti#ate& to /e Y 1,J each. Pro/a/ly the #ost i#)ortant source of error
arises fro# the fact that #any soun&ing roc0ets are launche& fro# re#ote regions on )oorly controlle&
sche&ules #a0ing a )riori collection of goo& geo)hysical &ata nearly i#)ossi/le, even a)art fro# any
challenges in the #easure#ent of gust &ata. *ore so)histicate& gust res)onse #o&els coul& &ou/tless /e
&evelo)e&, /ut, /ecause of the uncertainties in the gust &ata use&, they shoul& not /e e")ecte& to )rovi&e
significant i#)rove#ent in accuracy.
/onclusions
! si#)le )hysics1/ase& esti#ate of soun&ing roc0et /oost )hase gust angle of attac0 statistics has /een
&evelo)e& an& co#)are& -ith the ol&er ste) function gust #o&el. Dirst, this )a)er sho-s that the stan&ar&
&eviation in )lanar angle of attac0 has a transient )ea0 at lo- altitu&e, /ut Auic0ly a))roaches its constant
1L
asy#)totic value. :he asy#)tote )rovi&es a si#)le engineering result suita/le for #any )ractical
)ro/le#s.
Dinally, the results sho- that the shar)1e&ge& ste) function gust #o&el once co##only use& in /lin&
ignorance, is a )oor a))ro"i#ation. :he shar)1e&ge& gust #o&el has no #echanis# to accu#ulate or
&issi)ate short )erio& gust res)onse energy, an essential )hysical feature of the )ro/le#. Because short
)erio& &a#)ing has /een neglecte&, the #o&el &escri/e& in this )a)er allo-s gust res)onse energy in the
short )erio& #o&e to accu#ulate -ithout /oun&. Since soun&ing roc0et )o-ere& flight is often /rief, there
-ill usually not /e enough ti#e$altitu&e for &a#)ing to re#ove #uch energy. :hus, using the current
#o&el -ill )rovi&e conservative results, es)ecially at higher altitu&es.
.t is reco##en&e& that the results &evelo)e& here /e use& in the future to esti#ate soun&ing roc0et
structural loa&s &uring /oost )hase.
References
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DreAuency 9ange fro# 0.000M to 900 Cycles )er Hour[, \ournal of *eteorology, >ol. 14, 19,M,
). 1L0.
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1M
M. Batchelor, O. P. Z:heory of Ho#ogeneous :ur/ulence[, Ca#/ri&ge University Press,
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1980
18