An integrated aerodynamic engineering prediction system for general hypersonic vehicle

A general integrated aerodynamic prediction system for hypersonic vehicle is presented. CAD/CG geometry modeling techniques are introduced for precise geometry configuration modeling. FEM technique and free mesh generation algorithm are used for fast model meshing. The finesse of the mesh is controlled by the element edge length, which is determined with a comprehensive consideration of the accuracy and computation cost. With this technique the Internet open source models can be downloaded and imported for prediction. A general program for panel analysis is developed and the outer normal of the panel can be corrected. Based on panel aerodynamics theory, including modified-Newton method, Prandtl-Meye method and tangent cone method, aerodynamic coefficients and derivatives of each panel are calculated and then the total coefficients and derivatives of vehicle can be obtained by summation. The aerodynamics forces, moments and aerodynamic derivatives of the vehicle can all be obtained. By introducing software integration technique, the geometry configuration modeling, panel generation, panel analysis and post process are all integrated in a software system. With this system, the aerodynamic coefficients calculation and analysis of hypersonic vehicle could be implemented automatically. The simulation results of HTV-2 and space shuttle demonstrate the feasibility of this aerodynamic engineering prediction system.