Physics-based Convection-Conduction Wall Models for Robust Time-Accurate LES of RDREs

The project aims to develop comprehensive physics-based wall models for predicting heat flux in rotating detonation rocket engines (RDREs) by combining multi-fidelity CFD simulations with analytical models and closely coupled validation experiments. The research team will extend prior work on boundary-layer resolved numerical simulations, reduced-order models, and experimental measurements of transient heat flux with microsecond resolution to develop an accurate time-averaging scheme and a reduced-order conjugate heat transfer (CHT) model with heat sink or cooled walls. This will address the critical need for numerical simulations to resolve the detonation wave on sub-microsecond time scales while also accounting for the longer time scales required for conduction. This will be incorporated into an application programming interface (API) to instantly predict transient temperature across RDRE solid walls for a user-defined time step, geometry, material properties, and coolant-side boundary condition. The research will utilize wall-resolved large eddy Simulations (LES) for straight detonation channels and geometrically accurate unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) simulations for a full-annular RDRE to characterize and experimentally validate the time-accurate convective heat flux. The API will be incorporated into USAF LES/URANS codes to predict spatially varying heat loads without resolving the boundary layer or solid wall, thereby greatly accelerating the design process.