Numerical Assessment of Wall Catalytic Effects on the IXV surface

The flow around the IXV vehicle during the atmospheric re-entry has been numerically studied using a commercial code in order to assess the wall catalycity effects on the surface heat flux. The study has been performed by means of the analysis and the comparison of the numerical solutions obtained applying the fully-, partial- and non-catalytic wall boundary conditions. The results show that at M=17.7 the surface heat flux distribution depends strongly on the wall catalycity and that the numerical heat flux estimate can vary up to a factor 2 changing the wall catalytic model

Experimental investigation of the influence of the flow structure on the aerodynamic coefficients of the IXV vehicle

In the frame of the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) an experimental re-entry phase of the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) configuration has been conducted in the DLR hypersonic wind tunnel H2K in Cologne. Tests have been carried out at Mach 6.0 and 8.7 with different flap deflection angles and the angle of incidence varied continuously between 20° and 55° to investigate the flow topology as well as the aerodynamic forces and moments and the surface pressure distribution. The experimental data show that depending on the combination of the flap deflection angle and angle of incidence the complex flow structure in the vicinity of the flaps (i.e. the shock/shock and shock/boundary layer interaction causing flow separation and reattachment) can influence the vehicle aerodynamic coefficients significantly

Experimental investigation of the influence of the flow structure on the aerodynamic coefficients of the IXV vehicle

In the framework of the ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Program (FLPP) an experimental study on the aerodynamic behavior during the re-entry phase of the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) configuration was conducted in the DLR hypersonic wind tunnel H2K in Cologne. Tests were carried out at Mach 6.0 and 8.7 with different flap deflection angles and the angle of attack varied continuously between 20◦ and 55◦ to investigate the flow topology as well as the aerodynamic forces and moments and the surface pressure distribution. The experimental data show that depending on the combination of the flap deflection angle (δL/R) and angle of attack (α) the complex flow structure in the vicinity of the flaps significantly influences the vehicle’s aerodynamic coefficients. An analysis of this shock/shock and shock/boundary layer interaction causing flow separation with reattachment is performed