X-33 Aerodynamic and Aeroheating Computations for Wind Tunnel and Flight Conditions

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X-33 Aerodynamic and Aeroheating Computations for Wind Tunnel and Flight Conditions

B. R. Hollis / R. A. Thompson / R. K. Prabhu

This report provides an overview of hypersonic Computational Fluid Dynamics research conducted at the NASA Langley Research Center to support the Phase II development of the X33 vehicle. The X33, which is being developed by Lockheed-Martin in partnership with NASA, is an experimental Single-Stage-to-Orbit demonstrator that is intended to validate critical technologies for a full-scale Reusable Launch Vehicle. As part of the development of the X33, CFD codes have been used to predict the aerodynamic and aeroheating characteristics of the vehicle. Laminar and turbulent predictions were generated for the X33 vehicle using two finite volume, Navier-Stokes solvers. Inviscid solutions were also generated with an Euler code. Computations were performed for Mach numbers of 4.0 to 10.0 at angles-of-attack from 10 deg to 48 deg with body flap deflections of 0, 10 and 20 deg. Comparisons between predictions and wind tunnel aerodynamic and aeroheating data are presented in this paper. Aeroheating and aerodynamic predictions for flight conditions are also presented.