Efficient Aero-thermoelastic Modeling of Hypersonic Vehicles

Student : Patricia Teixeira

Sponsor : CNPq


Summary:

Hypersonic vehicles’ design and modeling requires an accurate prediction of unsteady aerodynamic loads which could result in loss of performance or vehicle control. Modeling certain applications, such as the control system, require a quick response based on the input conditions. Although high fidelity models exist for each of these disciplines, the computational time can be prohibitive. This problem is aggravated by the complex interaction between aerodynamic heating, heat transfer, aerodynamics and structural dynamics in hypersonic flight. By using physical approximations for the problem, it is possible to obtain a very efficient solution, but with a significant loss of accuracy. A possible alternative for this is the use of reduced order methods (ROMs) that, based on results of high fidelity methods, allow accurate results using a fraction of time of the traditional high fidelity methods. This work’s main objective is the development new computational solutions for the improvement of aero-thermoelastic modeling in an efficient and accurate way.

2D Grid of the diamond airfoil used in this study.