Demonstration of Multiphysics Analysis Tools on Representative Hypersonic Vehicle Structures

This paper extends a previously developed computational framework for coupled aerothermoelastic simulations for hypersonic vehicle structures in extreme environments. An aeroheating verification and validation case is first conducted on a Mach 6.5+ spherical dome protuberance that was tested in a NASA wind tunnel by Glass and Hunt [1986] and was also computationally simulated by Ostoich et al. [2011, 2012]. ATA’s simulation includes aerothermoelasticity in the physics and captures the heating of the compliant dome structure during the first five seconds of exposure to hypersonic flow. This case is followed by a coupled quasi-static aerothermoelastic analysis of an acreage panel-level structural component for a sustained, reusable, air-breathing Mach 5–7 cruise horizontal-takeoff platform. A notional hypersonic vehicle (NHV) has been defined, and analyses are underway for two panels based on recent industry detailed designs. The panels were consistent with the NHV outer mold line (OML), allowing the fully coupled simulation of two realistic structures in a realistic hypersonic environment. The paper presents results from a first quasi-static simulation of an orthogrid stiffened, curved panel that bows into the flow due to thermal stress and an assumed internal pressure. The effect of the stiffeners on the panel’s response is profound and includes global and localized bowing relative to the undeformed panel and vehicle OML, resulting in the generation of multiple shock structures. The longterm vision of the analysis framework is to enable accurate, quantitative assessment of panels in regions where improper accounting of nonlinear coupling makes structural response and life prediction problematic and may lead to excessive structural risk and/or weight as a result of excessive conservatism.