Predictions of Ablating Hypersonic Vehicles Using an Iterative Coupled Fluid/Thermal Approach

Abstract

A new iterative approach for the prediction of the ablation of hypersonic vehicles is presented. The solution technique is achieved by an iterative coupling of a computational e uid dynamics code and a material thermal response code through mass and energy balances at a common interface. The iterative approach proved necessary due to severe numerical instabilities that resulted when an explicit technique was employed involving a loose coupling approach between the two codes. The results presented are for an axisymmetric carbon ‐carbon nosetip on a reentry vehicle e ying a ballistic trajectory. Details of the computational technique and the computed e owe eld and materialthermalresponsearepresented.Comparisonsweremadewith thewidelyusedABRES ShapeChange Code (ASCC), and favorable results were obtained.