Modeling high-speed gas–particle flows relevant to spacecraft landings

Abstract

The interactions between rocket exhaust plumes and the surface of extraterrestrial bodies during spacecraft landings involve complex multiphase flow dynamics that pose significant risk to space exploration missions. The two-phase flow is characterized by high Reynolds and Mach number conditions with particle concentrations ranging from dilute to close-packing. Low atmospheric pressure and gravity typically encountered in landing environments combined with reduced optical access by the granular material pose significant challenges for experimental investigations. Consequently, numerical modeling is expected to play an increasingly important role for future missions. This article presents a review and perspectives on modeling high-speed disperse two-phase flows relevant to plume–surface interactions (PSI). We present an overview of existing drag laws, with origins from 18th-century cannon fire experiments and new insights from particle-resolved numerical simulations. While the focus here is on multiphase flows relevant to PSI, much of the same physics are shared by other compressible gas–particle flows, such as coal-dust explosions, volcanic eruptions, and detonation of solid material.