Thermal Aeroelastic Characteristics of Inflatable Reentry Vehicle Experiment (IRVE) in Hypersonic Flow

Abstract

The inflatable reentry vehicle provides a new technical way in aerospace entry, descent, and landing. The structural failure of inflatable reentry vehicle experiment caused by thermal aeroelastic effect is serious, which needs to be further studied. A traditional numerical method about flexible vehicles separates the aeroheating and aeroelastic problems, resulting in poor matching with the actual test. In this paper, a thermal-fluid-solid coupling model considering inflation gas effect was established, which associates the aeroheating and aeroelastic modules and adopts the LES to improve the depicting ability of hypersonic flow. The model was used to solve the thermal aeroelastic characteristics under extreme aeroheating load. From aeroheating results, the large-scale vortex on windward generated by the interaction of the shock layer and boundary layer has great influence on aeroheating due to the heat dissipation, and the skin deformation also increases the surface friction and local heating near depressions. From aeroelastic analysis, the flexible structure performs violent forced vibration induced by the unsteady large-scale vortex on windward, and the aeroheating effect will significantly increase the thermal stress and natural vibration properties. The thermal-fluid-solid coupling method for the flexible structure proposed in this paper provides a reasonable reference for engineering.

Design and CFD Analysis on the Reduction of Thermal Effect in Re-entry Vehicle by Using Retractable Aerospike

“…The primary cause of shock-layer heating is not direct friction with the re-entry object. Some heating is also accounted for by friction-based entropy increases of the molecules within the wave [2]. It has little effect when the vehicle travels at subsonic speeds.…”

“…Spikes, aero discs, and even supersonic projectiles that were thrown ahead of the blunt forebody are among the concepts. Among these strategies, spikes proved to be the most straightforward and successful in minimizing aerodynamic heating [2]. A drag-reducing aerospike minimizes the aerodynamic drag of blunt bodies at supersonic speeds.…”

“…The vortex has a strong pulsation pattern and produces heat skin depressions due to structural deformation in a thicker boundary layer and a fluctuating temperature distribution. The formation and dissolution of the vortex cause violent vibration [2].…”

Simulation and analysis of drag for inflatable aerodynamic decelerator

“…The primary explorations have been carried out to apply the IAD in the Mars landing [4], the payload reentry [5], the launch vehicle recovery [6], and so on. However, some complex effects, such as aerodynamic loads, aerothermal, and aeroelasticity during the reentry process of the IAD caused by its flexible and inflatable, has to be studied deeply [7].…”