Aerodynamic configuration optimization by the integration of aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics and trajectory for hypersonic vehicles

The problem of aerodynamic configuration design optimization is a multidisciplinary design optimization(MDO) problem, and recently the MDO method is widely adopted in the field of hypersonic vehicle configuration design. From the aerodynamic point of view, the aerodynamics, aerothermodynamics and trajectory are considered in this paper. Generally speaking, the aerodynamic characteristics, aerodynamic heating and trajectory are determined by the aerodynamic configuration and the design of flight trajectory. The design method considering these three disciplines is proposed. The parametric geometrical configurations are proposed, and the aerodynamic characteristics are predicted by the rapid and effective engineering method. The optimization of aerodynamic configuration considering the integration of aerodynamics,aerothermodynamics and trajectory is investigated based on the parametric geometrical configuration. Maximum lift-to-drag ratio, maximum range of the trajectory and minimum total heat load of the stagnation point are chosen as the three optimal goals. The detailed research indicates that the optimal configurations and trajectories with different weighting factors can be obtained by the optimization, and there are obvious differences between them. The optimal configuration and flight trajectory obtained by the optimization can be used as the feasible schemes in the future work.

Applications of multi-dimensional schemes on unstructured grids for high-accuracy heat flux prediction

The simulation of hypersonic flows with fully unstructured(tetrahedral)grids has severe problems with respect to the prediction of stagnation region heating,due to the random face orientation without alignment to the bow shock.To improve the accuracy of aero-heating predictions,three multi-dimensional approaches on unstructured grids are coupled in our Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS)solver,including multi-dimensional upwind flux reconstruction(MUP),multi-dimensional limiter(MLP-u2)and multi-dimensional gradient reconstruction(MLR).The coupled multi-dimensional RANS solver is validated by several typical verification and validation(V&V)cases,including hypersonic flows over a cylinder,a blunt biconic,and a double-ellipsoid,with commonly used prism/tetrahedral hybrid grids.Finally,the coupled multi-dimensional solver is applied to simulating the heat flux distribution over a 3D engineering configuration,i.e.a Hermes-like space shuttle model.The obtained numerical results are compared with experimental data.The predicted results demonstrate that the coupled multi-dimensional approach has a good prediction capability on aerodynamic heating over a wide range of complex engineering configurations.

Design and transition characteristics of a standard model for hypersonic boundary layer transition research

To understand fundamental problems in hypersonic laminar-turbulent boundary layer transition for three-dimensional complex vehicles,a new standard model with typical lifting-body features has been proposed,named as hypersonic transition research vehicle(HyTRV).The configuration of HyTRV is fully analytical,and details of the design process are discussed in this study.The transition characteristics for HyTRV are investigated using three combined methods,i.e.,theoretical analyses,numerical simulations,and wind tunnel experiments.Results show that the fully analytic parameterization design of HyTRV can satisfy the model simplification requirements from both numerical simulations and wind tunnel experiments.Meanwhile,the flow field of HyTRV reveals typical transition mechanisms in six relatively separated regions,including the streamwise vortex instability,crossflow instability,secondary instability,and attachment-line instability.Therefore,the proposed HyTRV model is valuable for fundamental researches in hypersonic boundary layer transition.