Conjugate heat transfer in hypersonic flows
CFD
Introduction
In certain applications, different regions of the computational domain experience flow conditions/physics that are so different that it is very difficult for a single solver to produce sufficiently accurate results everywhere. In many situations, such problems can be separated and solved using multiple solvers with appropriate coupling between the solvers. Each solver is chosen to provide highly accurate solutions for the prevailing flow regimes/physics. This kind of flexibility and fidelity is necessary when users are moving towards simulation-driven design solutions. In this paper, we demonstrate a coupling methodology to solve simultaneously the external flow field of a hypersonic re-entry vehicle/capsule and the resultant heating on the vehicle’s structure and internal components resulting from conjugate heat transfer through the Thermal Protection System (TPS) of the vehicle/capsule.
Authors
Abraham J. Meganathan, Sijun Zhang - ESI Group, USA