Modeling Tools for Hypersonic Flight

The Polaris Sensor Technologies team (PSTT), consisting of Polaris Sensor Technologies (PST) in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame (UND) and ATA Engineering (ATA), proposes an approach to address technology gaps in existing computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation codes guided by evaluation against aero-optical measurements to leverage the advantages of these non-intrusive optical measurements with precision on the order of fractions of the wavelengths of light - or 10Æs to 100Æs of nanometers in the visible band.Ā Ultimately, we want to address multiple aspects of the problem and develop a tool set with improved capability, blending aero-optical analysis with CFD for broader capability than CFD alone as well as expanding aero-optical techniques. Phase I will demonstrate evaluation of CFD predictions of second-mode instability by comparing simulated optical data to aero-optical measurements. Future phases will apply this evaluation approach to a broader selection of candidate CFD codes to quantify the effectiveness of candidate techniques to accurately predict this physical phenomenon.Ā A successful outcome of this vision is an end-to-end model for predicting parameters impacting hypersonic weapons system design.