Comprehensive Evaluation of the Massively Parallel Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Kernel “Stochastic Parallel Rarefied-Gas Time-Accurate Analyzer” in Rarefied Hypersonic Flows—Part B: Hypersonic Vehicles

Abstract

In the past decade, there has been significant progress in the development, testing, and production of vehicles capable of achieving hypersonic speeds. This area of research has garnered immense interest due to the transformative potential of these vehicles. Part B of this paper initially explores the current state of hypersonic vehicle development and deployment, as well as the propulsion technologies involved. At next, two additional test cases, used for the evaluation of DSMC code SPARTA are analyzed: a Mach 12.4 flow over a flared cylinder and a Mach 15.6 flow over a 25/55-degree biconic. These (2D-axisymmetric) test cases have been selected as they are tailored for the assessment of flow and heat transfer characteristics of present and future hypersonic vehicles, for both their external and internal aerodynamics. These test cases exhibit (in a larger range compared to the test cases presented in Part A of this work) shock–boundary and shock–shock interactions, which can provide a fair assessment of the SPARTA DSMC solver accuracy, in flow conditions which characterize hypersonic flight and can adequately test its ability to qualitatively and quantitatively capture the complicated physics behind such demanding flows. This validation campaign of SPARTA provided valuable experience for the correct tuning of the various parameters of the solver, especially for the use of adequate computational grids, thus enabling its subsequent application to more complicated three-dimensional test cases of hypersonic vehicles.