The Influence of the Interference Effects on the Aerodynamic Characteristics of the Reentry Vehicle and Its Parachute System Structural Elements During Their Separation

Abstract

This work considers the aerodynamic characteristics of the reentry vehicle (RV) of a segmental-conical shape, and the parachute container hatch cover (PCHC) during its separation. Due to the aerodynamic interference, the hatch may collide with the RV. The authors propose a method of studying the aerodynamic characteristics of the PCHC and RV based on modelling using the dynamic mesh technology in the FlowVision software package. Stationary flow around the RV until the hatch cover separation, flow around the hatch cover and free flow are calculated. As the result of the calculations, the PCHC trajectories (excluding gravitational forces) under various initial separation conditions, as well as the aerodynamic characteristics of the RV are obtained. The cases when the hatch cover collides with the RV are identified.