CFD Simulations and Wind Tunnel Experiments for Re-usable Launch Vehicles

Synthèse CFSE

L’étude compare des simulations CFD et des essais en soufflerie sur la rétropropulsion supersonique des configurations RETALT1 et RETALT2. Pour RETALT1, la distance de décollement de l’onde de choc frontale et la position du disque de Mach varient linéairement avec √(c_T), tandis que le rapport entre pression de sortie de tuyère et pression post-stagnation varie linéairement avec c_T, le coefficient de poussée. Pour RETALT2, les essais et les calculs montrent une hystérésis lorsque l’angle d’incidence varie.

Résumé source en anglais

In the frame of the RETALT project a large number of CFD simulations and Wind Tunnel experiments were made for both the RETALT1 and RETALT2 configurations to better understand the physics and mechanisms of retro-propulsion at supersonic flow conditions. For RETALT1, it was found in both CFD and Wind Tunnel experiments that the flow structure (bow shock stand-off distance, location of the Mach disk) varies linearly with √(c_T), with c_T the thrust coefficient. However, other flow features, as for example the ratio of nozzle exit pressure with the post-stagnation pressure, show a linear dependence on the c_T. For RETALT2 a hysteresis effect was observed in the Wind Tunnel experiments when varying the incidence angle, and a similar behavior was found in the CFD calculations.

Résumé repris de Zenodo. Réutilisé sous licence source. Line wrapping and mathematical notation have been normalized against the published abstract; c_T denotes the thrust coefficient.