Three-dimensional computer model of nonequilibrium aerophysics of the spacecraft entering in the Martian atmosphere

Abstract

A three-dimensional computer model of nonequilibrium aerophysics of the spacecraft entering in the Martian atmosphere and landing on the planet surface is presented. The model is based on the system of Navier-Stokes equations, the energy conservation equation in the form of the Fourier-Kirchhoff equation for the translational temperature, the system of equations of vibrational kinetics for six vibrational modes of N2, O2, CO2 and CO molecules, and the equation of selective thermal radiation transfer in the multigroup spectral approximation. The results of two-dimensional and threedimensional calculations of the nonequilibrium flowfield and the convective and radiative heating of the EXOMARS spacecraft surface are presented. The calculations are performed on regular multiblock curvilinear grids using the NERAT-2D and NERAT-3D computer codes developed in the Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.