Multiblock analysis for Shuttle Orbiter reentry heating from Mach 24 to Mach 12

A multiblock, laminar heating analysis for the shuttle orbiter at three trajectory points ranging from Mach 24.3 to Mach 12.86 on re-entry is described. The analysis is performed using the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm (LAURA) with both a seven species chemical nonequilibrium model and an equilibrium model. A finite-catalytic-wall model appropriate for shuttle tiles at a radiative equilibrium wall temperature is applied. Computed heating levels are generally in good agreement with the flight data though a few rather large discrepancies remain unexplained. The multiblock relaxation strategy partitions the flowfield into manageable blocks requiring a fraction of the computational resources (time and memory) required by a full domain approach. In hot, the computational cost for a solution at even a single trajectory point would be prohibitively expensive at the given resolution without the multiblock approach. Converged blocks are reassembled to enable a fully coupled converged solution over the entire vehicle, starting from a nearly converged initial condition.

[1]  C. D. Scott.  Catalytic recombination of nitrogen and oxygen on high-temperature reusable surface insulation , 1980 .

[2]  Peter A. Gnoffo,et al.  Conservation equations and physical models for hypersonic air flows in thermal and chemical nonequilibrium , 1989 .

[3]  Peter A. Gnoffo,et al.  Solution strategies and heat transfer calculations for three-dimensional configurations at hypersonic speeds , 1992 .

[4]  Yasuhiro Wada,et al.  Numerical Simulation of Re-Entry Flow Around the Space Shuttle with Finite-Rate Chemistry , 1992 .

[5]  Ethiraj Venkatapathy,et al.  Application of a solution adaptive grid scheme, SAGE, to complex three-dimensional flows , 1991 .

[6]  C. Park,et al.  Nonequilibrium Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics , 1989 .

[7]  K. J. Weilmuenster,et al.  Simplified curve fits for the thermodynamic properties of equilibrium air , 1986 .

[8]  M. H. Harthun,et al.  Aerothermodynamic entry environment of the Space Shuttle Orbiter , 1982 .

[9]  J. Muylaert,et al.  Aerothermodynamic calculations for the Space Shuttle Orbiter , 1992 .

[10]  Paul Kolodziej,et al.  Thermal response of integral multicomponent composite thermal protection systems , 1986 .

[11]  Peter A. Gnoffo.  Asynchronous, macrotasked relaxation strategies for the solution of viscous, hypersonic flows , 1991 .

[12]  Michael G. Dunn,et al.  Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Reentry Plasmas , 1973 .

[13]  Peter A. Gnoffo,et al.  Navier-Stokes simulations of Orbiter aerodynamic characteristics including pitch trim and bodyflap , 1994 .

[14]  Ethiraj Venkatapathy,et al.  Application of a solution adaptive grid scheme to complex three-dimensional flows , 1992 .

[15]  Peter A. Gnoffo,et al.  Navier-Stokes simulations of the Shuttle Orbiter aerodynamic characteristics with emphasis on pitch trim and bodyflap , 1993 .

[16]  Richard A. Thompson,et al.  A review of reaction rates and thermodynamic and transport properties for the 11-species air model for chemical and thermal nonequilibrium calculations to 30000 K , 1989 .

[17]  P. A. Gnoffo,et al.  Point-implicit relaxation strategies for viscous, hypersonic flows , 1989 .

[18]  Francis A. Greene,et al.  Viscous equilibrium computations using program LAURA , 1991 .

[19]  P. B. Chiu,et al.  Numerical Computations of Orbiter Flowfields and Laminar Heating Rates , 1977 .

[20]  James P. Arrington,et al.  Shuttle Performance: Lessons Learned , 1983 .

[21]  Peter A. Gnoffo,et al.  Heating analysis for a Lunar Transfer Vehicle at near-equilibrium flow conditions , 1993 .

[22]  Richard A. Thompson,et al.  Calculations and curve fits of thermodynamic and transport properties for equilibrium air to 30000 K , 1991 .

[23]  William Kleb,et al.  Characteristics of the Shuttle Orbiter leeside flow during a reentrycondition , 1992 .