Evaluation of a Newly Designed Aerodisk for Cloud Seeding Prototype Rocket Drag Reduction

Abstract

The present work provides a detailed study of a cloud seeding prototype rocket’s nose cone drag reduction strategy by adopting the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation method for solving compressible flow problems. Two different nose cone aerodisk models are simulated using OpenFOAM software: two hemisphere aerodisk and two spherically blunted tangent ogive aerodisk. The results are compared against a baseline case of the blunt nose cone. The solver used is first validated against published experimental data. It is observed that both aerodisk models significantly reduce the drag coefficient of the blunt nose cone with two spherically blunted tangent ogive aerodisk providing the lowest drag coefficient. Detailed comparison of the flow visualization in terms of temperature distribution and shock wave formation is also reported to determine its influence on aerodynamic drag. The present study generally reveals that two spherically blunted tangent ogive aerodisk is preferred over two hemisphere aerodisk for achieving greater drag reductions and lower heat load to the cloud seeding prototype rocket.