Multidisciplinary Optimization of Scramjet Powered Hypersonic Vehicles Using High Fidelity Simulation
Abstract
Hypersonic systems involve many unique physical phenomena that make their analysis challenging. Such vehicles fly faster than Mach 5, which is one of the main attributes that makes them difficult to defend against. The high speed creates strong shock waves that generate high temperatures that in turn give rise to unique gas dynamic phenomena such as excitation of internal energy modes and chemical reactions. The high temperature gas in contact with the vehicle surface gives rise to elevated levels of heat transfer that requires implementation of a thermal protection system. Depending on the speed of the vehicle, different thermal protection approaches are employed including hot structures, high temperature materials, and ablating materials. The first generation of hypersonic systems are generally designed and optimized using relatively low-fidelity simulation approaches. While these methods are numerically efficient and allow the exploration of a large parameter space, they do not accurately describe the complex hypersonic phenomena and so their results must be employed with conservatism. Final design of these vehicles still relies heavily on testing in ground facilities that are often over-subscribed and difficult to access, along with flight tests that occur infrequently and are extremely expensive. In the future, next generation hypersonic systems will need to fly faster and farther. The current paradigm is unlikely to yield designs that significantly increase performance in a timely and affordable manner. The research proposed here aims to develop hypersonic vehicle optimization approaches based on high-fidelity computational simulation to deliver designs that accurately account for all complex gas dynamic and material processes. This goal will be achieved through the development, coupling, and application of existing advanced computational codes to describe hypersonic flow and material response in combination with a tool for shape optimization. These approaches will be applied to optimization of a scramjet powered hypersonic vehicle.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 13, 2023
- Source ID
- N004212310001
Entities
People
- Iain D. Boyd
Organizations
- United States Navy
- University of Colorado Boulder