Numerical analysis of hypersonic flows around blunt-nosed models and a space vehicle

This work addresses the problem of the aerothermodynamics of hypersonic nonequilibrium flows over blunt nosed models and space vehicles with rarefaction effects. First, the in-house Navier-Stokes solver, UNIC-UNS code, with the slip boundary condition and finite-rate chemistry is used to simulate the hypersonic flows over a blunt nosed model and the simplified European eXPErimental Re-entry Test-bed (EXPERT) model V4.4. Next, hypersonic flows over the whole EXPERT 3D model, which correspond to the expected descent trajectory with allowance for rarefaction and thermochemical nonequilibrium are simulated. By comparing with the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, it is observed that the UNIC-UNS code is reliable in simulating hypersonic flows with rarefaction and thermochemical non-equilibrium effects. A detailed analysis of the aerothermodynamics for EXPERT for a wide range of flow regimes is also provided by utilizing the numerical flow visualization. The present numerical simulations provide some important data for EXPERT, which cannot be easily derived by experiments. This study aims to work as a precursor for future studies and to provide to the scientific community with quality data that can be used to improve tools for the design of hypersonic vehicles.