International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science Volume 3, Issue 5, September-October, 2015

ISSN 2091-2730

HYPERSONIC FLOW ANALYSIS ON AN ATMOSPHERIC RE-ENTRY

MODULE
Dr. ROY N MATHEWS a, SHAFEEQUE A P b

Department of Mechanical Engineering,

Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, Kerala, pin- 686 666, India.

Email:[email protected], Tele: +91 9744060240

a-Professor ; b-M.Tech Scholar

Abstract—Atmospheric re-entry refers to the movement of human made objects as they enter the atmosphere of a planet from outer
space. Re-entry capsules are blunt-bodies designed to withstand high heating loads experienced during entry into the atmosphere. Here
conduct an external flow analysis on atmospheric re-entering vehicle called Apollo AS-202. Computational fluid dynamics is used to
obtain the flow field that develops around reentry capsules. To evaluate the heat flux variation, velocity profile, temperature variation
and pressure distribution at various locations of the capsules are presented. . The analysis is carried out for turbulent flow and standard
flow properties available for Re-entry capsules in the literature using Navier-Stokes solver for different Mach numbers. The results of
the simulation were discussed using velocity, temperature, heat flux and pressure contours.

Keywords—Re-entry vehicles, Atmospheric re-entry, Aerodynamic Heating, Thermal protection system, Hypersonic Flow, CFD,
Heat fluxes.

INTRODUCTION
Re-entry capsules are used for space exploration applications due to their ability to withstand high heating loads during the re-entry
phase. A re-entry capsule consists of a blunt fore body, followed by a conical after body with straight or rounded base [3]. A bow
shock forms ahead of the vehicle to slow down the hypersonic flow. Apart from the blunt-shaped nose, the most recent re-entry
vehicles are equipped with ablative Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) to avoid possible damage of the capsule and insulate the
vehicles content.

In re-entry vehicles, during re-entry phase, the thermal loads play a major part. A re-entry capsule encounters a high temperature and
chemically reacting flow during the re-entry phase [6]. Computational Fluid Dynamics is extensively used to simulate these flows, as
high enthalpy and low density associated with the flight conditions are difficult to reproduce in wind tunnels or shock tunnels at each
re-entry trajectory point. Wind and shock tunnel tests are difficult and are costly to conduct at high enthalpy conditions. CFD is a
much more economical approach for studying such flows. Therefore CFD is extensively used as an analysis tool in the design of
hypersonic vehicles. CFD is also used as a research tool to understand the complicated hypersonic effects.

Thermal analysis plays an important role in the design of atmospheric re-entry vehicles, which are subjected to severe aerodynamic
heating. However, the thermal analysis is subject to a number of uncertainties. There can also be high uncertainty in the prediction of
aerodynamic heat flux, due to factors such as scatter in the re-entry trajectory and highly complex phenomena that are difficult to
analyze [2].

When a capsule reenters an atmospheric environment, a strong shock wave is formed in front of it. Behind the shock wave, a shock
layer with very high temperature appears, where a high enthalpy fluid flows around a capsule, resulting in a severe heating
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International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science Volume 3, Issue 5, September-October, 2015
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environment. Moreover, in an environment where the capsule velocity exceeds 8 km/s such as a super-orbit re-entry, there appear
complicated phenomena accompanied by the radiation and/or the influence of turbulence [4].

The computed results are utilized to determine whether the aero-thermodynamic loads exceed the allowable values. If the loads are
exceeding, then an optimized design is required to account for these loads. Moreover, if it is not exceeding, further analysis is done on
the other components to ensure their reliability. By meshing the model, the re-entry vehicle is broken down into small components.
When it is positioned into the CFD program, solutions to Navier-Strokes (N-S) equations are integrated across each of these small
components and added up. It accounts for changes in temperature, density, and pressure of the surrounding atmosphere, and even
includes viscous effects and shock waves [1].

Aerodynamic Heating

Atmospheric re-entry vehicles are subjected to aerodynamic heating during re-entry phase of their operation. Aerodynamic heating is
the heating of a solid body produced by the passage of fluid over the body [5]. It is a form of forced convection in that the flow field is
created by forces beyond those associated with the thermal processes. This process generates heat and consequently all external
surfaces of the vehicle are heated.

Due to aerodynamic heating external surfaces of the re-entry vehicle gets heated. Thermal Protection Systems are necessary in order to
protect the internal structure of the vehicle from the elevated heat fluxes occurring on the external surfaces. The design of a Thermal
Protection System is based on the principle that the energy released by the aerodynamic heating must be absorbed or rejected by the
Thermal Protection System.

METHODOLOGY

A CFD analysis on a launch vehicle can be broken down into few parts: (i). Creating a required model of re-entry vehicle in a
computer program, (ii). Import the geometry into a meshing program, such as HYPERMESH, (iii). Analyse the meshed geometry in a
CFD program by setting the design parameters and environmental conditions, (iv). Post-processing the output and evaluate the results.

AS-202 Flight Data

The flight data used for assessment/comparison of heat flux data on the capsule were taken from the AS-202 flight test which was
performed as part of the Apollo program. Once the Apollo entry vehicle design was determined, two flight tests of the actual
Command Module (AS-201 and AS-202) were conducted at super orbital entry velocities resulting from suborbital boosted
trajectories with an intentional skip maneuver. Although AS-201 did not carry an on board inertial measurement unit (IMU), one was
carried during the AS-202 flight, which enabled a reconstruction of the flight trajectory and vehicle orientation as a function of
time.Figs. 1-3 and tables 1and 2are taken from Louis M.G.Walpot et.al[1][9][10].

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Fig.1 Schematic drawing of the outer mould line of AS-202 capsule

The afterbody heating environment for the Apollo Command Module shape as measured on the AS-202 mission is used as basis for
comparison between CFD results and flight data.Fig.1 shows the outer mould line of the AS-202 as modeled for the CFD analyses.
The re-entry trajectory of AS-202 in terms of velocity and altitude vs. time is shown in Fig.2.

Fig.2 Altitude and velocity as a function of time from launch for AS-202.

Table 1 As-202 Trajectory Points And Freestream Conditions

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The points in time and the related freestream conditions used for comparison to flight data are tabulated in Table1. The small side slip
angle has been neglected in the current simulations. The locations of calorimeters used to determine the heat fluxes on the AS-202
conical afterbody are depicted in Fig.3. The afterbody instrument package for AS-201 and AS-202 consisted of 23 surface-mounted
calorimeters and 24 pressure transducers. Both flights were highly successful, with 16 of the calorimeters returning useful data on AS-
201 and 19 on AS-202.Table 2 contains the exact coordinates of each calorimeter position. The afterbody heating rates for AS-201
were much higher than those for AS-202 because of the steeper entry angle (maximum heating rate of 25 vs 9 W/cm2) [11].

Fig.3 Locations of calorimeters on AS202 conical after body. Orange symbols indicate inoperative instruments. Letters correspond to
the ID.

Table 2 Afterbody calorimeter locations for AS-202.

Geometrical Modelling

The Apollo Command Module essentially consisted of a spherical section forebody and a 33 0 conical afterbody. The CM capsule was
a 330 half-angle cone with the blunt after heat shield formed from a segment of a sphere of radius 4.694 m. A toroidal section with
radius of 0.196 m provided the transition between the conical and spherical sections. The maximum capsule diameter of 3.91 m
occurred in the toroidal section. To account for the fact that air flows around the launch vehicle, the area surrounding the re-entry
vehicle model is meshed, rather than the re-entry vehicle itself.

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Fig.4 Three dimensional Apollo AS-202 model

Meshing

The suitable mesh has been computed using HYPERMESH over the surface of the capsule. The mesh should be very fine near the
shoulder part and the far field also created around the body to created artificial environment as like experimental setup. Quadrilateral
mesh inside capsule and triangular mesh outside with capsule model.Mesh is very fine near the surface of the reentry capsule, so that
the results can be calculated accurately [16]. Minimum Orthogonal Quality = 9.8e-01, Maximum Aspect Ratio = 5.2e+00. Five layer
boundary layer with growth ratio 1.1. First element size 0.01 cm.
As we know that one of the controlling factors of the flow simulation around the body is decided by the quality of mesh or the
arrangement of the mesh. The arrangement of grid near Heat shield and shoulder is shown in Fig. 6. The grid is refined in the vicinity
of the shock wave to capture the flow gradients accurately. Surface of the body is meshed very fine near very small faces when
compare to large one. As the stagnation properties of flow act at the heat shield and the narrow face of the body, hence meshing near
heat shield is to be most fine and accurate. The purpose of the heat shield is to transfer the heat energy to the atmosphere without
conducting to the capsule.

Fig.5 Two dimensional Meshing with capsule body

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Shoulder region are meshed with fine elements.

Fig.6 Enlarged view of Meshing of three dimensional model

Further imported the meshed file into FLUENT for analysis there the suitable boundary conditions and operating conditions are given
to get all the performance parameter during the re-entering into the earth atmosphere.

Boundary Conditions

Table3:AS-202 trajectory points and free-stream conditions[4]

CASE Altitude(km) V(km/s) M ρ∞ (kg/m3) T∞(K)

1 70.0 7.92 26.2 1.52*10-4 227
2 77.2 6.49 22.7 2.45*10-5 203
3 54.6 5.07 15.6 6.16*10-4 262

The simulation methodology used and the key points are highlighted. The freestream density, velocity, and temperature for the chosen
condition are 0.000152 kg∕m3, 7920 m∕s, and 227 K, respectively [8].

Turbulence modelling: For AS- 202, the Spalart–Allmaras model was used to cover turbulent flow situations. One-equation Spalart-
Allmaras turbulence model is used to analyse hypersonic turbulent flow since this turbulence model is numerically robust and
generally gives good predictions in hypersonic applications [12]. The governing equations are discretized using the finite volume
approach. The method is second order accurate both in stream-wise and wall normal directions. The viscous fluxes and turbulent
source terms are evaluated using second order accurate central differencing and implicit Data Parallel Line Relaxation is used to
obtain steady-state solutions. No-slip, non-catalytic and isothermal wall boundary conditions are specified at the wall. Freestream
conditions are specified at the outer boundary. The flow around the Apollo-shaped capsule at non-zero angle of attack is not axi-
symmetric [13].

The far field around the body is at around below 90 km above sea level. The Fluid is considered as Ideal gas around the body [7]. The
flow field around the re-entry configuration is simulated by solving the three-dimensional Navier- Stokes equations. The working
medium, air, is taken as a perfect gas with molecular weight of 28.96 grams/mole and ratio of specific heat equal to 1.4. The
temperature dependence of molecular viscosity is as per user defined function, and the conductivity is calculated using a Prandtl
number of 0.72.

Equilibrium chemistry: Air is considered as a five species ideal gas mixture. air is modelled as a neutral mixture of five species (N2,
O2, NO, N and O), with five finite rate chemical reactions [15]. No dissociation is observed in the solution and the mass fractions of
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N2 and O2 remain at their freestream values throughout the flowfield. The temperature and pressure dependent equilibrium gas
properties are modelled via appropriate fit functions. A temperature range between 50K and 20,000K and a density range between 10–
12kg/m3.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The flowfield around the Apollo-shaped body is initialized to free-stream values all over the domain. As the simulation progresses the
bow shock and the boundary layer on the vehicle are formed, followed by flow separation on the afterbody. As the separation bubble
forms on the windward side. A large recirculation bubble is formed on the leeward side and the shear layer enclosing the separation
bubble coalesces at the neck, where the recompression shock is formed. While the re-entry vehicle enters into the atmosphere, a bow
shock is created at the base of the vehicle.

The absence of three dimensional flow field solution for the Apollo command module at zero angles of attack. The pressure
measurements on the conical section generally agreed with the wind-tunnel predictions. The conical pressure measurements were low
during maximum heating. Maximum pressure at fore body and its value is 1.945*106 Pa. Minimum pressure 2*105 Pa. It shows the
severe pressure drag at the two edges of the module base. High static pressure is created in the base of the reentry vehicle as illustrated
in Fig.7. Since, the pressure is high while re-entering in to the atmosphere due to the strong bow shock created. This bow shock will
increase drag force acting on the re-entry vehicle and has the capability to decelerate the vehicle to low Mach numbers. The maximum
static pressure is created at the far field of the re-entry vehicle because of the progressing bow shocks marching downstream of the
vehicle. The increase in pressure is visualized exactly using the static pressure contour for 0 o angle of attack.

Fig.7 Pressure distribution of two dimensional model at Mach no =26.2

The fig.8 shows the simulation of the temperature contours over the capsule. Here we can see, the temperature is maximum at the heat
shield and it is also observed that the potential as well as kinetic energy decreases. So according to the law of conservation, if some
energy function decreases so in order to be conserved some other energy should be increasing. Here the kinetic and potential energy is
decreasing and it is dissipating in the form of heat energy. Maximum temperature was at fore body section and its value 1.96*104 K.
Minimum temperature value 2.2*102 K. Fig.9 shows velocity distribution of two dimensional model at Mach number =26.2. The
maximum temperature is produced at the base of the re-entry vehicle and it is lowest amount at the edges. Fig.9 shows the velocity
distribution of two dimensional model at Mach number =26.2. Zero velocity was at fore body section of re-entry capsule and
maximum value was free stream velocity.

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Fig.8 Temperature distribution of two dimensional model at Mach no. =26.2

Fig.9 Velocity distribution of two dimensional model at Mach no =26.2

Two dimensional analysis without the capsule body not able to predict the wall flux properly. Next iteration, two dimensional analysis
with capsule body, Fluid solid interface wall was created to have the heat transfer.All results were remain same, except for the heat
flux.Two dimensional analysis with capsule body for the heat flux gives a value, and getting idea about the distribution.Three
dimensional analysis is carried out to understand the heat flux distribution around the capsule body.

Fig.10 Heat flux distribution of three dimensional model at Mach no.=15.6

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Fig.11 Heat flux distribution of three dimensional model at Mach no.=22.7

Fig.12 Heat flux distribution of three dimensional model at Mach no.=26.2

Figs. 10-12 shows the heat flux distribtion of three dimensional model at different Mach number.As Mach number increases the
maximum heat flux surface also increases.It was clear that red region of the capsule at Mach number =26.2 was very higher than that
of at Mach number =15.6.Maximum value of the heat flux was 4.898*10 5 W/m2. Fig.13 shows the heat Flux (W/m2) at different
locations of capsule at different Mach number. Maximum heat flux was generated at shoulder region of the capsule, it is the point
where just before the maximum diameter point.ie, P3. In flight data maximum heat flux value is 57 W/cm 2 in table 2.

P3

P2
P4
P1

Fig.13 Heat Flux (W/m2) at different locations of capsule at different Mach number

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Table.4 Heat Flux (W/m2) at different locations of capsule at different Mach number

Mach number P1 P2 P3 P4
26.2 260000 474000 375688 423666
22.7 175000 260000 489800 400000
15.6 320000 150000 430000 306000

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I acknowledge the support from Dr. Roy N Mathews and prof. Reji Mathew, Mar Athanasius College of Engineering, Kothamangalam
(Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University , Kottayam, Kerala and AICTE, India). I express my deep sense of gratitude to
R.Harikrishnan, Thermal Design Division, VSSC,Trivandrum,Kerala for the valuable guidance as well as timely advice which helped
me a lot in doing my work successfully.

CONCLUSION
As observed in the figure above the velocity at the heat shield was minimum and increases as we move to the shoulder. This decrease
in velocity results in increase in pressure gradient which results in the formation of shock wave. Major output parameters of the aero
thermodynamic analysis are surface wall temperatures which are helpful in material selection for the survivability of the vehicle. Over
the body for the decreasing Mach number conditions and wall outer surface temperature over the capsule is directly proportional to the
Mach number. The shock wave formed comes closer to the body with increase in Mach number. This analysis gives the idea about the
heat flux around the re-entry capsule body during re-entry phase at different Mach number. As the Mach number increases the
temperature also increasing due to friction. As temperature increases heat flux increases. Calorimeters positioned at or very close to
the shoulder, recorded higher heat flux levels. . In this work maximum value of the heat flux was 4.898*10 5 W/m2 it was slightly less
than flight data.

From this investigation, it is proved that this method can offer aerodynamic information on a timely basis while keeping the cost and
schedule of commercial programs. Wind tunnel tests are important in the validation of prediction methods if they are not available,
validated the results with actual flight data. Right choice of material can avoid the localised heating. This method will help future
research on reentry much easier than it was before. The CFD code will help future researcher to calculate reentry parameters for their
research work.

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