Continuous Aerodynamic Modelling of Entry Shapes

Continuous Aerodynamic Modelling of Entry Shapes

Dirkx, D.
Mooij, E.

Aerospace Engineering

Space Engineering

2011-08-08

During the conceptual design phase of a re-entry vehicle, the vehicle shape can be varied and its impact on performance evaluated. To this end, the continuous modeling of the aerodynamic characteristics as a function of the shape is useful in exploring the full design space. Local inclination methods for aerodynamic analysis have proven sufficiently accurate for use at such a design stage, but manual selection of methods over the vehicle is inefficient for the exploration of a large number of design possibilities. This paper describes the model of an aerodynamic analysis code, written for use in conceptual vehicle shape optimization, which includes an automatic method selection algorithm. Panel shielding is also included in the analysis code to allow for the analysis of more complex geometries. The models used for the shape and aerodynamics are described and results for the Space Shuttle and Apollo are compared to wind tunnel data. They show an accuracy of better than 15% for most cases, which is sufficient for the use in conceptual design. Panel shielding is shown to be important in the prediction of control derivatives at low angle of attack, as well as the prediction of lateral stability derivatives. Finally, a simple guidance algorithm is used to assess the impact of the errors in the aerodynamic coefficients on the vehicle heat load and ground track length. Both show discrepancies of less than 10%.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:c20e9039-7dbb-4596-8712-c7d00bfc3f56

https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2011-6575

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)

978-1-62410-153-3

AIAA Atmospheric Flight Mechanics Conference, Portland, USA, 8-11 August 2011; AIAA 2011-6575

Institutional Repository

conference paper

© 2011 The Author(s)