HYPERSONIC RAREFIED FLOW SIMULATOR

THE ABILITY TO ACCURATELY PREDICT HEAT AND AERODYNAMIC FORCE LOADING ON HYPERSONIC REENTRY VEHICLES IN NON-CONTINUUM RAREFIED FLOW REGIMES REQUIRES SIMULATION OF THE MOLECULAR NATURE OF THE FLOW ENVIRONMENT. FLUID PHYSICS INDUSTRIES AND OUR SAIC CONSULTANTS PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A COMPUTATIONALLY EFFICIENT AND FAST SIMULATION TOOL WHICH INCLUDES SELF-CONSISTENT PLASMA PHENOMENA, RADIATION, SPATIAL DOMAIN DECOMPOSITION WITH ADAPTIVE GRIDDING FOR TRANSITION, AND FREE MOLECULAR FLOW REGIMES. THE STUDY WILL DEVELOP APPROPRIATE ALGORITHMS WHICH ARE REQUIRED FOR DETAILED SIMULATIONS OF ARBITRARY 3D RV GEOMETRIES AT ARBITRARY ORIENTATIONS TO THE FLOW.