A Free Online VKI Seminar - Shock interaction patterns in carbon dioxide nonequilibrium flows over double-wedges

A Free Online VKI Seminar

Shock interaction patterns in carbon dioxide nonequilibrium flows over double-wedges

Our Guest Speaker: Ms Ana Catarina Garbacz University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland

Abstract: The design of future spacecraft for sustained hypersonic flight or atmospheric reentry requires a detailed understanding of the aerothermodynamic environment that the vehicle experiences. Interference of shock waves and boundary layers can occur near compression corners such as the ones found near control surfaces, wing–fuselage junction, or inlet of propulsive systems. The inability to completely capture the physical phenomenon can lead to catastrophic failure, such as the case of the NASA X-15, where unanticipated shock impingement and associated heating caused structural failure. The present work numerically investigates nonequilibrium shock–shock and shock–boundary layer interactions over double-wedges in hypersonic carbon-dioxide flows, relevant to the atmosphere of Mars. To this purpose, numerical simulation is performed with the open-source CFD code SU2-NEMO coupled to the Mutation++ library developed in VKI. Shock interaction patterns in carbon-dioxide flows are characterized in detail focusing on nonequilibrium physics, with respect to the physical modelling, geometrical parameters and flow conditions.

Biography: Catarina is a researcher at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Her field of research is hypersonic aerodynamics and her PhD project investigated shock interaction patterns in carbon-dioxide nonequilibrium flows. Recently, Catarina has worked with ESA, VKI and Politenico di Bari on a study about hypersonic reentry in ice-giant plants, and with BAE Systems in the modelling and simulation of guided flight for hypersonic vehicles.