The numerical and experimental simulation of hypervelocity flow around the HYFLEX vehicle forebody

Abstract. Numerical and experimental techniques are used to model the flow and pressure distribution around the forebody of the HYFLEX hypersonic flight vehicle. We compare numerical simulation results with modified Newtonian theory and flight data to determine the accuracy of the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) technique used. The numerical simulations closely match the trends in flight data, and show that real gas effects have a small but significant influence on the nose pressure distribution. We also present pressure results from a scale-model tested in a shock tunnel, and compare them with simulation results. For the shock tunnel experiment, the model was placed such that part of the upper surface was in a region of the test flow where nonuniformities were significant, and it was shown that the numerical simulation could adequately capture these experimental flow features. The binary scaling parameter (describing the similarity in species dissociation between flight and model) was used to design the scale-model tests in the shock tunnel, and its effectiveness is discussed. We find that matching the flight Mach number in the shock tunnel experiment is not critical for reproducing flight pressure data, so long as flight velocity is matched, and binary scaling is maintained.