Study of the impact of radiation on hypersonic entry/reentry flows under thermodynamic and chemical non-equilibrium conditions

• Grant number: 24/07590-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Aerospace Engineering - Aerodynamics
• Principal Investigator: João Luiz Filgueiras de Azevedo
• Grantee: Gibson de Marchi Poltronieri
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa. Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Ministério da Defesa (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07375-0 - CeMEAI - Center for Mathematical Sciences Applied to Industry, AP.CEPID

Abstract

The accurate estimation of radiative phenomena in hypersonic entry/reentry flows is of interest to the space industry, primarily for the design of space access vehicles. Studies in the literature indicate that radiation phenomena can significantly impact the heat flux over the vehicle wall. The magnitude of this impact depends on the flow conditions, such as density, temperature, and chemical composition. The literature also shows that coupling radiation phenomena with fluid dynamics formulations is not a trivial effort. The Photon Monte Carlo (PMC) and tangent slab (TS) methods are examples of formulations to simulate radiative phenomena in various flow conditions. The former method has been gaining ground in the literature in studying radiation in hypersonic flows. Therefore, the main objective of the present research effort is to investigate the impact of radiation in hypersonic reactive flows of atmospheric entry/reentry in thermodynamic and chemical non-equilibrium conditions. In this context, part of the present effort is directed to develop methods and numerical tools to simulate radiative phenomena in the flows of interest. The work will validate the numerical tools by comparison with numerical and experimental data in the literature. Another part of the present effort will focus on identifying "grand challenges" in the research field and it will address some of them with the methods here developed. It is believed that this research project contributes to broadening the understanding of the impact of radiation in hypersonic reactive flows of atmospheric entry/reentry. This research theme is directly related to the interests of the Brazilian space program. Moreover, the contributions of the research will also be documented and published in scientific journals, and international and national conferences relevant to the present research field. (AU)