Flow simulation of NAL experimental supersonic airplane/booster separation using overset unstructured grids
The overset unstructured grid method developed for multiple-body problems is applied to a flow simulation about an experimental supersonic airplane separation from a rocket booster. An unstructured grid around the rocket booster is overset on the stationary grid around the airplane and moves with time to simulate the separation process. Detailed components of the rocket booster are faithfully reproduced by the unstructured grid. This capability of the unstructured grid reduces the number of required overset grids and significantly simplifies the overset procedure. The computed result of the airplane/booster separation clearly simulates the complex reflection patterns of shock waves between two bodies during the separation process. The computed lift and pitching moment coefficients are compared with the wind tunnel results. The computational accuracy of the aerodynamic coefficients is improved by including the detailed components of the airplane and rocket. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
airplane/booster separation overset unstructured grids