Numerical validation of four canonical hypersonic vehicles and test-cases.

The CFD solutions for four hypersonic test cases are validated using experimental data. Three of the validations (sharp double cone at Mach 12.6, blunt biconic with flaps at Mach 10.3, and the double fin inlet at Mach 8.3) are based on wind tunnel experiments, while the fourth validation (FIRE II re-entry capsule at Mach 35.7) is based on flight test data. The four cases were selected so as to represent a wide range of flow regimes and flow features that are relevant to the design of both cruise and re-entry hypersonic vehicles: strong normal shocks, obliques shocks, shock-shock interaction, separation shocks, expansion waves, boundary layer separation, laminar and turbulent boundary layers, surface heating, vehicle forces, real-gas effects and chemical non-equilibrium, amongst others. The CFD solutions were obtained using a commercially available density-based RANS solver. Overall, the agreement between the simulations and the experiment is positive, with a few exceptions; the discrepancies are analyzed and discussed for each individual case. One of the key findings is the need to better-defined experiemental data for validation purposes. The results of the present study are used as the basis for further future code evaluation and validation that will include new approaches to the numerical methods approaches and additional physical modeling, such as laminar-to-turbulent transition, thermodynamic non-equilibrium, and low-pressure effects.