Aerodynamic heating prediction tool for a supersonic vehicle for conceptual design phase

Abstract

A computational tool has been developed to compute transient surface temperature utilizing basic flight parameters such as altitude, Mach number and angle of attack. An explicit finite difference technique is used to discretize the governing differential equations that account for convection and radiation heat transfer with non-reactive chemistry. Different approaches are applied to two different surface types; thermally thin and thermally thick. The Biot number criterion between the wall and the surrounding air is considered to determine the surface type. Transport properties of air are calculated at Eckert's reference temperature. Boundary layer transition is taken into account by considering local Mach number and Reynolds number. Heat transfer coefficients are calculated by use of flat plate approaches. Effect of angle of attack is taken into account through modified Newtonian theory. The available X-15 flight data for two different flight trajectories and HIFiRE-5 flight data are used to validate the prediction tool. Vehicles with different geometries are modeled using CFD simulations and results of different configurations are compared with the computed temperatures. Predicted results for surface temperatures are found to be in good agreement with measured flight data and simulation results. The validation shows that the methodology developed in the present study could be useful in predicting aerodynamic heating loads during conceptual and preliminary design phases. © 2016, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All right reserved.