Effect of geometrical parameters of reentry capsule over flowfield at high speed flow

Abstract

The main purpose of the paper is to analyze effect of geometrical parameters of the reentry capsules such as radius of the spherical cap, shoulder radius, back shell inclination angle and overall length on the flow field characteristics. The numerical simulation with viscous flow past ARD (Atmospheric Reentry Demonstrator), Soyuz (Russian) and OREX (Orbital Reentry EXperimental) reentry capsules for freestream Mach numbers range of 2.0-5.0 is carried out by solving time-dependent, axisymmetric, compressible laminar Navier-Stokes equations. These reentry capsules appear as bell, head light and saucer in shape. The flow field features around the reentry capsules such as bow shock wave, sonic line, expansion fan and recirculating flow region are well captured by the present numerical simulations. A low pressure is observed immediately downstream of the base region of the capsule which can be attributed to fill-up in the growing space between the shock wave and the reentry module. The back shell angle and the radius of the shoulder over the capsule are having a significant effect on the wall pressure distribution. The effects of geometrical parameters of the reentry capsules will useful input for the calculation of ballistic coefficient of the reentry module.