Comparison of Inviscid Viscous Aerodynamic Predictions of Supersonic Retropropulsion Flowfields
Author(s)
Korzun, Ashley M.
Cordell, Christopher E., Jr.
Braun, Robert D.
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Abstract
Supersonic retropropulsion, or the initiation of a retropropulsion phase at supersonic
freestream conditions, is an enabling decelerator technology for high-mass planetary entries
at Mars. The current knowledge on supersonic retropropulsion is largely derived from
exploratory development efforts prior to the Viking missions in the 1960s and early 1970s,
predominantly sub-scale wind tunnel testing. Little literature exists on analytical and
computational modeling approaches for supersonic aerodynamic-propulsive interactions at
moderate thrust levels and flight-relevant conditions. This investigation presents a
discussion of the relevant flow physics to provide insight into the effectiveness of inviscid and
viscous computational analysis approaches in consistently and accurately capturing the
relevant flow physics. Preliminary computational results for a blunt body with two
retropropulsion configurations are compared with experimental data for the location of
prominent flow features and surface pressure distributions. This work is intended to
provide an initial discussion of the challenges facing the computational simulation of
supersonic retropropulsion flowfields.
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Date
2010-06
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Text
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Paper
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