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At least 91 records · Page 5

Numerical computation of two-dimensional viscous blunt body flows with an impinging shock

Two-dimensional, viscous, blunt body flows with an impinging shock wave are computed using a time-dependent, finite-difference method to solve the complete set of Navier-Stokes equations. The bow shock wave is treated as a discontinuity, while all interior shock layer detail such as shear layers, shock waves, jets, and the wall boundary layer are automatically captured in the solution. Numerical results are presented for cases in which shock waves of different strengths are allowed to impinge on the flow field surrounding a circular cylinder resulting in different shock interference patterns. The two-dimensional results are compared qualitatively with existing three-dimensional experiments.

Tannehil, J. C.↗

Supersonic Aerodynamic Characteristics of Blunt Body Trim Tab Configurations

Trim tabs are aerodynamic control surfaces that can allow an entry vehicle to meet aerodynamic performance requirements while reducing or eliminating the use of ballast mass and providing a capability to modulate the lift-to-drag ratio during entry. Force and moment data were obtained on 38 unique, blunt body trim tab configurations in the NASA Langley Research Center Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. The data were used to parametrically assess the supersonic aerodynamic performance of trim tabs and to understand the influence of tab area, cant angle, and aspect ratio. Across the range of conditions tested (Mach numbers of 2.5, 3.5, and 4.5; angles of attack from -4deg to +20deg; angles of sideslip from 0deg to +8deg), the effects of varying tab area and tab cant angle were found to be much more significant than effects from varying tab aspect ratio. Aerodynamic characteristics exhibited variation with Mach number and forebody geometry over the range of conditions tested. Overall, the results demonstrate that trim tabs are a viable approach to satisfy aerodynamic performance requirements of blunt body entry vehicles with minimal ballast mass. For a 70deg sphere-cone, a tab with 3% area of the forebody and canted approximately 35deg with no ballast mass was found to give the same trim aerodynamics as a baseline model with ballast mass that was 5% of the total entry mass.

Korzun, Ashley M.↗

Improved nonequilibrium viscous shock-layer scheme for hypersonic blunt-body flowfields

The nonequilibrium viscous shock-layer (VSL) solution scheme is revisited to improve its solution accuracy in the stagnation region and also to minimize and control errors in the conservation of elemental mass. The stagnation-point solution is improved by using a second-order expansion for the normal velocity, and the elemental mass conservation is improved by directly imposing the element conservation equations as solution constraints. These modifications are such that the general structure and computational efficiency of the nonequilibrium VSL scheme is not affected. This revised nonequilibrium VSL scheme is used to study the Mach 20 flow over a 7-deg sphere-cone vehicle under 0- and 20-deg angle-of-attack conditions. Comparisons are made with the corresponding predictions of Navier-Stokes and parabolized Navier-Stokes solution schemes. The results of these tests show that the nonequilibrium blunt-body VSL scheme is indeed an accurate, fast, and extremely efficient means for generating the blunt-body flowfield over spherical nose tips at zero-to-large angles of attack.

Bhutta, Bilal A.↗

Recent improvements in the nonequilibrium VSL scheme for hypersonic blunt-body flows

The nonequilibrium viscous shock-layer (VSL) solution scheme is revisited to improve its solution accuracy in the stagnation point region and also to minimize and control the errors in the conservation of elemental mass. The stagnation-point solution is improved by using a second-order expansion for the normal velocity and the elemental mass conservation is improved by directly imposing the element conservation equations as solution constraints. These modifications are such that the general structure and computational efficiency of the nonequilibrium VSL scheme is not affected. This revised nonequilibrium VSL scheme is used to study the Mach 20 flow over a 7-deg sphere-cone vehicle under zero and 20-deg angle-of-attack conditons. Comparisons are made with the corresponding predictions of Navier-Stokes and Parabolized Navier-Stokes solution schemes. The results of these tests show that the nonequilibrium blunt-body VSL scheme is indeed an accurate, fast and extremely efficient means for generating the blunt-body flowfield over spherical nosetips at small-to-large angles of attack.

Bhutta, Bilal A.↗