Aerothermal loads analysis for high speed flow over a quilted surface configuration

Abstract

Attention is given to hypersonic laminar flow over a quilted surface configuration that simulates an array of Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System panels bowed in a spherical shape as a result of thermal gradients through the panel thickness. Pressure and heating loads to the surface are determined. The flow field over the configuration was mathematically modeled by means of time-dependent, three-dimensional conservation of mass, momentum, and energy equations. A boundary mapping technique was then used to obtain a rectangular, parallelepiped computational domain, and an explicit MacCormack (1972) explicit time-split predictor-corrector finite difference algorithm was used to obtain steady state solutions. Total integrated heating loads vary linearly with bowed height when this value does not exceed the local boundary layer thickness.