Numerical investigation of the aerothermodynamics of lifting re-entry geometries

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Space systems (including launch and recovery) and their associated technologies have comprehensive socio-economic benefits, including to telecommunications, agriculture, climate change, and disaster relief. Understanding of the aerothermodynamics of space re-entry vehicles and hypersonic flight still contains many gaps, including the dependence of salient aerodynamic features on geometric configuration and flight conditions. This is particularly true for lifting re-entry vehicles which spend a significant portion of their trajectory in the upper atmosphere where rarefied flow, non-equilibrium, and chemistry effects become relevant. The primary reason for the research gaps in this area has been the difficulty and high cost of studying the problem both experimentally and numerically. In the past two decades, major advances in computing power and simulation techniques have made studying these phenomena numerically, with minimal a priori empirical inputs, increasingly feasible - providing data and levels of insight previously unavailable. The present research program will use numerical analysis of lifting re-entry flows to improve our understanding of complicated gas dynamic phenomena, including shock-wave boundary layer interactions, flow separation, and wake dynamics. Key findings will enable improved control, thermal protection, and repair and reusability strategies in space launch and recovery systems. In addition, these findings will benefit related efforts in other domains such as explosion safety, industrial gas processes, and propulsion where supersonic flow phenomena are ubiquitous. Thanks to advancements in CFD methodologies and computing power, a wide range of flight conditions and geometries may be explored. HQP will produce high-quality numerical datasets and observations. Through the application of first principles, they will develop improved theoretical understanding and valuable semi-empirical models making findings more generally applicable. Past work by the present investigator has focused on 2D and axisymmetric shapes of low complexity, primarily focused on the hypersonic laminar flow regime. The hypersonic wake of 3D lifting re-entry geometries in the high atmosphere presents an exciting advancement to this past work. The long-term objective of this research program is to gain a fundamental understanding of complex three-dimensional aerothermodynamic flow features leading to a more unified understanding of hypersonic wake dynamics, including real gas effects. By the end of the five-year timeline, the work conducted by HQP in this program will have significantly improved our understanding of gas-dynamic phenomena involved in re-entry and several adjacent fields. This work will open up new areas of inquiry, improve optimization and vehicle design efforts, and increase confidence in lifting re-entry vehicles, thereby having scientific, engineering, and policy implications.