A Hypersonic Performance Assessment Framework for Rapid Analysis of Vehicle and Mission Designs

ATA Engineering, Inc., (ATA) proposes a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project to create innovative enhancements to existing state-of-the-art modeling and simulation frameworks for analysis of hypersonic vehicle flight performance and response prediction for hot structure and thermal protection system (TPS) components constructed from carbon-carbon (C/C) and other high-temperature materials. The outcome of the proposed effort will be an enhancement to ATA’s Hypersonic Performance Assessment (HPA) framework that incorporates ablative degradation of materials into a streamlined workflow for rapid aerothermal analysis and structural design assessment for hypersonic weapon systems. These enhancements will expand the range and complexity of vehicle maneuvers that may be simulated as well as enable predictive material response capabilities through finite-rate chemistry physics coupled to TPS degradation models. Through these enhancements, ATA will seek to merge C/C TPS sizing activities for both ablative and thermostructural performance and provide vehicle development teams with more realistic rapid insights into system response.