Hypersonic Aerothermal Computations of a Sharp Fin Interaction

Substantial research has been completed towards understanding and simulating shock / boundary-layer interactions, but efforts have only recently begun to understand the effects of aerothermoelastic coupling within these interactions. In this work, the effects of thermal compliance underneath a sharp fin interaction are investigated using Reynolds-Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS)-based conjugate heat transfer simulations. Three different flow conditions are considered: a Mach 6 high Reynolds number, a Mach 6 low Reynolds number, and a Mach 10 case with unit Reynolds numbers 25.4 × 10⁶, 7.2 × 10⁶, and 7.6 × 10⁶ respectively. Development of aMFEM- and preCICE-based thermomechanical solver for high-speed fluid-thermal-structural simulations, called JOTS, is initiated and its conjugate heat transfer capability verified. A new SU2-preCICE adapter is also developed and verified. The incoming/undisturbed flat plate boundary layer heights, wall pressures, skin friction coefficients, and Stanton numbers are noted. The steady-state interaction footprint for each flowfield is quantified, and virtual conical origin (VCO) and inceptive origin (IO) locations are predicted. Inceptive effects and deviations from conical symmetry are discussed. Comparisons are made for peak pressure and heating against empirical models. The flowfields are characterized, with a notable deviation from well-known regimes observed for the Mach 10 case. Unsteady aerothermal simulations are completed for a total of 6 seconds of physical time. The Mach 6 low Reynolds number and Mach 10 cases experienced a relatively gradual relaxation of peak heating and minor decrease in its azimuthal location, while the Mach 6 high Reynolds number condition experienced a rapid relaxation and sudden shift in the location of peak heating from the impinging jet to the corner vortex.