Unsteady investigation on parallel separation for spiked two-stage reusable launch vehicle

Abstract

Two stage to orbit vehicles can reduce weight and improve propulsion efficiency, reducing launch cycle costs. For the safety of two-stage parallel separation, a spiked Two-Stage-To-Orbit (TSTO) configuration for parallel separation was proposed, which is consisted of a waverider liked booster and a wing-body configuration. An aerospike was placed at the head of the second stage. The unsteady simulation of the TSTO interstage separation at Mach 6 was investigated using the self-developed code, CMA. The pressure contours, pitch angle and displacement variation of the two models were compared. Under the interference of the aerospike, the flow field of the blunt body exhibited significant asymmetry at the angle of attack. The oblique shock wave on the leeward side was weaker than that on the windward side, and the area affected by the shock wave on the windward side gradually moved toward the stagnation point as the angle of attack increased, thereby improving the safety of the separation process of the two stages that originally collided by changing the flow field structure. In addition, the aerospike reduces the aerodynamic interference between the two stages without changing the aerodynamic shape of the aircraft, thereby reducing the drag.