High Fidelity Missile Hardbody Plume Interaction Modeling

This project will demonstrate the coupled use of two High-Fidelity fluid dynamic solvers, the AVUS CFD code and the SOCRATES-P DSMC code, to simulate propulsive missile flowfield characteristics from launch to the intercept point. The demonstration case, under this proposed Phase I effort, will concentrate on integrating several advanced simulation technologies for modeling missile plume and hardbody flowfield/thermal response interactions. This effort will accurately model combined plume/hardbody IR signatures with a specific emphasis on plume-related events at high altitudes. The SOCRATES-P Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code for flowfields above 90 km will be coupled to existing government owned/developed models for six-degree-of-freedom trajectory dynamics, material thermal response, aeroheating, and aerodynamics to perform a complete simulation package capable of including all pertinent physical effects related to combined missile hardbody/plume IR signatures. Needed phenomenology, code requirements, and program design will be emphasized in Phase I, with subsequent code development and validation being the focus of Phase II. In the continuing Phase II effort, these fluid modules will then be integrated into the Plume Object Environment Model (POEM) toolkit, currently in development under a separate MDA sponsored project.