Experimental characterization of the hypersonic flow around a cuboid
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Rees, Thomas W
Fisher, Tom B
Bruce, Paul JK
Merrifield, Jim A
Quinn, Mark K
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Understanding the hypersonic flow around faceted shapes is important in the context of the fragmentation and demise of satellites undergoing uncontrolled atmospheric entry. To better understand the physics of such flows, as well as the satellite demise process, we perform an experimental study of the Mach 5 flow around a cuboid geometry in the University of Manchester High SuperSonic Tunnel. Heat fluxes are measured using infrared thermography and a 3D inverse heat conduction solution, and flow features are imaged using schlieren photography. Measurements are taken at a range of Reynolds numbers from 40.0×103 to 549×103. The schlieren results suggest the presence of a separation bubble at the windward edge of the cube at high Reynolds numbers. High heat fluxes are observed near corners and edges, which are caused by boundary-layer thinning. Additionally, on the side (off-stagnation) faces of the cube, we observe wedge-shaped regions of high heat flux emanating from the windward corners of the cube. We attribute these to vortical structures being generated by the strong expansion around the cube’s corners. We also observe that the stagnation point of the cube is off-centre of the windward face, which we propose is due to sting flex under aerodynamic loading. Finally, we propose a simple method of calculating the stagnation point heat flux to a cube, as well as relations which can be used to predict hypersonic heat fluxes to cuboid geometries such as satellites during atmospheric re-entry.
Date Issued
2020-06-12
Date Acceptance
2020-05-05
Citation
Experiments in Fluids: experimental methods and their applications to fluid flow, 2020, 61 (7), pp.1-22
ISSN
0723-4864
Publisher
Springer
Start Page
1
End Page
22
Journal / Book Title
Experiments in Fluids: experimental methods and their applications to fluid flow
Volume
61
Issue
7
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2020. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
were made. The images or other third party material in this article are
included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in
the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a
copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source,
provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes
were made. The images or other third party material in this article are
included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated
otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in
the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will
need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a
copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Sponsor
European Space Agency / Estec
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000543284900001&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
4000120171/17/NL/MH/GM
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Mechanical
Mechanics
Engineering
HEAT-TRANSFER
INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY
REDUCTION
FLUX
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 151
Date Publish Online
2020-06-12