Modeling of aerodynamic heat flux and thermoelastic behavior of nose caps of hypersonic vehicles

• Published in: Acta astronautica Vol. 136; pp. 312 - 331
• Main Authors: Persova, Marina G., Soloveichik, Yury G., Belov, Vasiliy K., Kiselev, Dmitry S., Vagin, Denis V., Domnikov, Petr A., Patrushev, Ilya I., Kurskiy, Denis N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elmsford Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Aerodynamic heating; Angle of attack; Elastic properties; Experimental data; Finite element method; Finite element modeling; Fluctuations; Heat flux; Heat transfer; Hypersonic vehicles; Mach number; Mathematical analysis; Mathematical models; Mechanical properties; Nose cap; Nose cones; Thermodynamic properties; Thermoelasticity; Three dimensional models; Thermoelasticity; Finite element modeling; Aerodynamic heating; Nose cap
• ISSN: 0094-5765; 1879-2030
• DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2017.02.021

In this paper, the problem of numerical modeling of thermoelastic behavior of nose caps of hypersonic vehicles at different angles of attack is considered. 3D finite element modeling is performed by solving the coupled heat and elastic problems taking into account thermal and mechanical properties variations with temperature. A special method for calculating the aerodynamic heat flux entering the nose cap from its surface is proposed. This method is characterized by very low computational costs and allows calculating the aerodynamic heat flux at different values of the Mach number and angles of attack which may vary during the aerodynamic heating. The numerical results obtained by the proposed approach are compared with the numerical results and experimental data obtained by other authors. The developed approach has been used for studying the impact of the angle of attack on the thermoelastic behavior of nose caps main components. •We provide 3D-modeling of nose caps of hypersonic vehicles.•We propose the method of aerodynamic heat flux calculation at non-zero angles of attack.•We calculate the temperature and thermoelastic stresses at various angles of attack.•We take into account thermo-mechanical properties variations with temperature.•We suggest the approach to the TCR and imperfect mechanical contact treatment.