A Four-Field Computational Framework for the Aerothermomechanical Analysis of Hypersonic Vehicles

Abstract

Flight testing hypersonic systems is particularly challenging, because of the speeds at which they operate. When anything unexpected occurs, the time to react is so short that the tested system must be destroyed. Therefore, the predictive analysis of these systems is essential for determining their stability and structural integrity throughout their flight phases. Hypersonic vehicles distinguish themselves from conventional subsonic,transonic, and low-supersonic airframes not only by the complexity of their aerodynamics, but also by their aerothermodynamic input due to athermal protection system and/or ablation, by all movable control surface motions, and by panel vibrations. For this reason, their predictive analysis hinges on the availability of a high-fidelity aerothermomechanical simulation capability. To this effect, the main objective of this proposal is to develop a four-field computational framework for rigorously integrating the latest advances in computational fluid dynamics, moving grids,structural dynamics and thermomechanics that pertain to hypersonic systems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 21, 2009
Accession Number
AD1026526

Entities

People

  • Charbel Farhat

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Heating
  • Aeroelasticity
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Computational Science
  • Differential Equations
  • Energy Transfer
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Heat Transfer
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Mathematical Models
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Mechanical Properties
  • Mechanics
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Viscous Flow

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Hypersonics
  • Hypersonics - Hypersonic Flow