Abstract
The effects of thermal and chemical nonequilibrium on the aerothermodynamic environment over a Mars aerocapture vehicle are studied. In order to understand the characteristics of the flow at aerobraking, the classification of the stagnation region flow has been carried out from a viewpoint of the extent of the thermal and chemical nonequilibrium in the shock layer. The numerical analysis of the forebody flowfield over a spacecraft has been made by using the viscous shock-layer equations, including the thermal and chemical nonequilibrium effects of carbon dioxide. The influences of the thermal nonequilibrium on the flow properties in the shock layer become significant at an altitude above 60 km. As for the wall heating rate, however, its influence is not as strong as the influence of the wall catalycity. The sensitivities of the wall heating rate to the uncertainties in the real gas effect models are investigated parametrically. The wall heating rate is strongly affected by the wall catalycity. Consequently, a chemical nonequilibrium flow analysis is necessary for the analysis of the aerothermodynamic environment of a Mars aerocapture vehicle.
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