Integrated Hypersonic Aerothermoelastic Methodology for TAV/TPS Structural Design and Optimization

Current Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle (TAV) design requires Aerothermoelastic analysis to ascertain the TAV/TPS (thermal protection system) structural integrity in extreme hypersonic environments. A comprehensive aerothermoelastic software system requires ahigh-fidelity hypersonic unsteady aerodynamics method that is panel-FEM compatible to a structural-FEM design/optimization software such as NASTRAN or ASTROS. ZONA7U is a unified hypersonic/supersonic panel method that satisfies all requirements and isproven computationally efficient with comparable accuracy to CFD/Euler solutions.The ZONA team (ZONA Technology and TechnoSoft) will adopt ZONA7U as the unsteady/steady aerodynamic basis of the proposed Aerothermoelastic software system for TAV/TPS design/optimization. ZONA7U will be integrated with other required discipline/softwarein SHVD (Supersonic Hypersonic Vehicle Design), currently under development by TechnoSoft and Lockheed-Martin, including Aeroheating (SHABP/BLAH), Trajectory Analysis (POST), TPS sizing (MINIVER, SINDA/FEM), etc.In Phase I, ZONA will focus on the hypersonic aerothermoelastic method development and its design/optimization compatibility. TechnoSoft will integrate ZONA's aerothermoelastic program into the SHVD collaborative computing environment in preparation forPhase II. A feasibility study will be conducted to realize limited aerothermoelastic analysis and full-fledged design/optimization procedures for Hyper2000. Phase II tasks include the design/simulation of a realistic high-fidelity TAV/TPS system in acollaborative computing environment with a reduced design cycle time requirement.ZONA envisions that ZONA7U and its clustered Aerothermoelastic Software System will be a unique product as a future TAV/TPS design/optimization engineering tool.(1) ZONA plans to package and jointly market the Aerothermodynamics/Aerothermoelastic software with TechnoSoft for commercialization(2) Potential applications include TAVs , reusable launch vehicles and missiles(3) Potential customers include DoD, NASA and the Aerospace/Defense Industry.