Engineering service
Aerothermodynamics — CFD services
We design thermal-protection strategies and analyse hypersonic aerothermodynamic phenomena for re-entry and high-speed vehicles.
Analysis approach and scope
High-temperature gas, radiation, and chemical non-equilibrium models are included when relevant to the trajectory and available validation evidence. Wall conditions and model assumptions are stated with each analysis.
Typical outputs
- Aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic databases for agreed trajectory points
- Surface heat-flux and radiation-field results
- Thermal-environment inputs and documented assumptions for thermal-protection design
Related publications
Hypersonic flow simulations
Our methods combine high-temperature gas models with hypersonic CFD, radiation, and chemical non-equilibrium when the physics requires them.
Wall heat-flux calculations
We compute re-entry heat flux with thermal boundary conditions representing adiabatic, imposed-temperature, radiative-equilibrium, and catalytic wall behaviour to support TPS sizing.
Radiation effects
For hot plumes and re-entry flows, gas and particle radiation can materially affect heating. NSMB extensions support hot chemistry, Lagrangian solid-particle tracking, and particle radiation.
- Frozen, equilibrium, and non-equilibrium chemistry
- Lagrangian tracking of solid nozzle-exit particles
- Radiation modelling for solid particles
Thermal-protection design
We provide design guidance for ablative and reusable thermal-protection systems, including transient heating and material response, and use flight data to validate ground-to-flight extrapolation.
Atmospheric entry and ascent
For ESA Mars landing work, we generated aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic databases for the full EDL system and penetrator, along with unsteady simulations for stability derivatives.