Some Preliminary Thoughts * Part I: Inviscid Hypersonic Flow * Hypersonic Shock and Expansion-Wave Relations * Local Surface Inclination Methods * Hypersonic Inviscid Flowfields: Approximate Methods * Hypersonic Inviscid Flowfields: Exact Methods * Part II: Viscous Hypersonic Flow * Viscous Flow: Basic Aspects, Boundary Layer Results, and Aerodynamic Heating * Hypersonic Viscous Interactions * Computational Fluid Dynamic Solutions of Hypersonic Viscous Flows * Part III: High-Temperature Gas Dynamics * High-Temperature Gas Dynamics: Some Introductory Considerations * Some Aspects of the Thermodynamics of Chemically Reacting Gases (Classical Physical Chemistry) * Elements of Statistical Thermodynamics * Elements of Kinetic Theory * Chemical Vibrational Nonequilibrium * Inviscid High-Temperature Equilibrium Flows * Inviscid High-Temperature Nonequilibrium Flows * Kinetic Theory Revisited: Transport Properties in High-Temperature Gases * Viscous High-Temperature Flows * Introduction to Radiative Gas Dynamics.

Hypersonic and high temperature gas dynamics

Hypersonic and High-Temperature Gas Dynamics, Second Edition

Aeroelasticity is still dynamic, challenging, and a key part of cutting-edge airplane technology. Emerging trends, as well as challenges and needs in the field of airplane aeroelasticity, are surveyed and discussed. The paper complements other overview papers on various aspects of the fixed-wing aeroelastic problem, published recently for the centennial year of flight. It includes an extensive bibliography and emphasizes those aspects of aeroelastic technology development not covered thoroughly elsewhere.

Future of Airplane Aeroelasticity

The field of aerothermoelasticity plays an important role in the analysis and optimization of airbreathing hypersonic vehicles, impacting the design of the aerodynamic, structural, control, and propulsion systems at both the component and multi-disciplinary levels. This study aims to expand the fundamental understanding of hypersonic aerothermoelasticity by performing systematic investigations into fluid-thermal-structural coupling, and also to develop frameworks, using innovative modeling strategies, for reducing the computational effort associated with aerothermoelastic analysis. Due to the fundamental nature of this work, the analysis is limited to cylindrical bending of a simply-supported, von K arm an panel. Multiple important effects are included in the analysis, namely: 1) arbitrary, nonuniform, in-plane and through-thickness temperature distributions, 2) material property degradation at elevated temperature, and 3) the effect of elastic deformation on aerodynamic heating. It is found that including elastic deformations in the aerodynamic heating computations results in non-uniform heat flux, which produces non-uniform temperature distributions and non-uniform material property degradations. This results in reduced flight time to the onset of flutter and localized regions in which the material temperature limits may be exceeded. Additionally, the trade-off between computational cost and accuracy is evaluated for aerothermoelastic analysis based on either quasi-static or time-averaged dynamic fluid-thermal-structural coupling, as well as computational fluid dynamics based reduced-order modeling of the aerodynamic heat flux. It is determined that these approaches offer the potential for significant improvements in aerothermoelastic modeling in terms of efficiency and/or accuracy.

Studies on Fluid-Thermal-Structural Coupling for Aerothermoelasticity in Hypersonic Flow

The challenges in understanding hypersonic flight are discussed and critical hypersonic aerothermodynamics issues are reviewed. The ability of current analytical methods, numerical methods, ground testing capabilities, and flight testing approaches to predict hypersonic flow are evaluated. The areas where aerothermodynamic shortcomings restrict our ability to design and analyze hypersonic vehicles are discussed, and prospects for future capabilities are reviewed. Considerable work still needs to be done before our understanding of hypersonic flow will allow for the accurate prediction of vehicle flight characteristics throughout the flight envelope from launch to orbital insertion.

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Critical Hypersonic Aerothermodynamic Phenomena

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Computational Aerothermodynamic Design Issues for Hypersonic Vehicles

A multiblock, laminar heating analysis for the shuttle orbiter at three trajectory points ranging from Mach 24.3 to Mach 12.86 on reentry is described. The analysis is performed using the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm with a seven species chemical nonequilibrium 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, although 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 fact, 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.

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

Postflight analysis of the Mars Pathfinder hypersonic, continuum aerodynamic data base is presented. Measured data include accelerations along the body axis and axis normal directions. Comparisons of preflight simulation and measurements show good agreement. The prediction of two static instabilities associated with movement of the sonic line from the shoulder to the nose and back was confirmed by measured normal accelerations. Reconstruction of atmospheric density during entry has an uncertainty directly proportional to the uncertainty in the predicted axial coefficient. The sensitivity of the moment coefficient to freestream density, kinetic models and center-of-gravity location are examined to provide additional consistency checks of the simulation with flight data. The atmospheric density as derived from axial coefficient and measured axial accelerations falls within the range required for sonic line shift and static stability transition as independently determined from normal accelerations.

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Prediction and Validation of Mars Pathfinder Hypersonic Aerodynamic Database

It is pointed out that preliminary design and optimization studies for new aerospace vehicles require techniques which can calculate aerodynamic heating rates accurately and efficiently. The method employed to calculate the flow field depends to a large extent on the shape of the vehicle, Mach number, Reynolds number, and Knudsen number. In the case of the aero-assisted orbital transfer vehicle (AOTV), a substantial portion of the flight will be in the transitional regime between continuum and free molecule flow. The present paper discusses some approximate methods which have been used to calculate heating rates on high-speed vehicles. Attention is given to the stagnation point and leading edges, the downstream region, the axisymmetric analog, laminar and turbulent heating rates, transition heating rates, gas models, and three-dimensional applications.

A review of some approximate methods used in aerodynamic heating analyses

A rapid, approximate method has been developed for calculating the heating rates on three-dimensional vehicles such as the Space Shuttle Orbiter and other advanced reentry configurations. The method is based on the axisymmetric analogue for three-dimensional boundary layers. It uses information obtained from a three-dimensional inviscid flowfield solution, such as HALIS, to calculate inviscid surface streamlines along which approximate heating rates are calculated independent of what happens along other streamlines. Three-dimensional effects are included through the metric coefficient that describes the divergence or convergence of streamlines. Boundary-layer edge properties are obtained from the inviscid flowfield solution by interpolating in the inviscid flowfield at a distance equal to the boundary-layer thickness away from the wall. This accounts, approximately, for the variable boundary-layer edge entropy. Using this method, heating calculations can be made along a typical streamline in a few seconds. This method has been used to accurately predict heating rates for simple shapes such as a spherically blunted cone and more complex shapes such as the Shuttle Orbiter for a variety of wind-tunnel and flight conditions. A unique feature of the method is its ability to accurately predict heating rates on the Shuttle Orbiter wing.

K. James Weilmuenster

Papers

Computational Aerothermodynamic Design Issues for Hypersonic Vehicles

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

Prediction and Validation of Mars Pathfinder Hypersonic Aerodynamic Database

A review of some approximate methods used in aerodynamic heating analyses

Application of axisymmetric analog for calculating heating in three-dimensional flows