Application of the method of splitting by physical processes for the computation of a hypersonic flow over an aircraft model of complex configuration

Abstract

The capabilities of the computing complex developed at the Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences are studied by the example of an external hypersonic flow over a model of an unmanned experimental aircraft X-43 of complex configuration. The program complex includes a generator of the unstructured surface and volumetric computational meshes and a series of computer codes that implement the integration of the closed system of Euler and Navier-Stokes equations using the method of splitting by physical processes on an unstructured mesh. The results of application of the developed numerical method on the generated unstructured computational meshes for three-dimensional modeling of the aerothermodynamics of the complex hypersonic aircraft X-43 are presented. The flow field and heat transfer processes in the entire region of the flow from the bow wave to the far wake are investigated. The configuration of the shock waves generated in the flow over a hypersonic flying vehicle (HFV) is studied. The effect of the angle of attack and free stream on the flow flown and the aerodynamic and thermal characteristics of the HFV surface is studied. The integral aerodynamic characteristics of X-43, lift coefficients CL, and drag coefficients CD are calculated for each regime of the flow. The HFV lift-drag ratio K dependences on the Mach number and angle of attack are found. The data of the X-43 flight and wind-tunnel tests are compared with the results of numerical modeling.