ISBN 9783843935746

978-3-8439-3574-6, Reihe Raumfahrt

Paul Nizenkov
Numerical simulation of rarefied, high-enthalpy gas flows around complex three-dimensional bodies during atmospheric entry

118 Seiten, Dissertation Universität Stuttgart (2018), Softcover, A5

Zusammenfassung / Abstract

Spacecraft entering the atmospheres of planetary bodies such as Mars and Saturn's moon Titan at high speed are subject to high-enthalpy gas flows in strong non-equilibrium. The design of thermal protection systems is difficult because these conditions can rarely be recreated in wind tunnel tests and flight experiments are expensive. Numerical simulations however can enable the efficient approximation of the prevalent flow conditions.

This work focuses on the development and application of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo method within the plasma kinetic code PICLas. For this purpose, the DSMC method is extended to polyatomic species such as carbon dioxide and methane. Through the simulation of a multitude of wind-tunnel experiments and atmospheric entry scenarios, PICLas is validated and its applicability is shown for destinations such as Earth, Mars and Saturn's Titan.