Multiphysics, Coupled Analysis Capability for Hypersonic Vehicle Structures

The proposed Phase II SBIR development effort will deliver a multiphysics coupled analysis simulation method for hypersonic vehicle structures. The physics simulation capability will consist of a set of coupled software tools used to model the response of hypersonic vehicle structures in extreme aero-thermal environments, at both the global level of the full flight vehicle and the local level of critically-loaded vehicle skin panel(s). For both cases, a hypersonic computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code will be integrated with a nonlinear computational structural dynamics (NLCSD) code in a fully coupled, fluid-structure interaction form. At the global vehicle level, the coupled analysis method will simulate the quasi-static deformation of the vehicle to aero-thermal loads along a given trajectory and identify hot-spots and panels exposed to locally extreme aero-acoustic loads. At the local level, it will simulate the time-accurate response of a skin panel subject to extreme environments to predict stresses and the onset of snap-through and/or flutter. The new coupled multiphysics capability will be validated against available test data for panels subjected to hypersonic flight loads. The final deliverable will be a documented methodology which can be accessed by the Air Force and its contractors as a combination commercial and open-source software. BENEFIT: A key outcome of the Phase II program will be a quantitative evaluation of structural design based on coupled multiphysics versus current design methods limited to uncoupled/bounding methods. This will allow future designers to identify whether hypersonic structural design is overly conservative or not, when coupled physics are ignored. Applications in the DoD market include the design/development of weight-efficient military hypersonic vehicles, scram jet and related propulsion systems for hypersonic vehicles, and stealth aircraft with ducted exhaust. In commercial markets, a coupled fluid-thermal-structural design tool would have application to space flight vehicles and sub-orbital aero-space planes. Non-aerospace applications include nuclear engineering and related energy industry applications.