Study on the Automated CFD Analysis Tools for Conceptual Design of Space Transportation Vehicles

In order to improve turnaround time and usability of the aerodynamic analysis tool such as for the conceptual design of space launch vehicles, an automated high fidelity numerical aerodynamic analysis method is developed. This method has capability of fully automated and quick execution from geometry modeling through flow computation for high Reynolds number viscous flow over complicated geometry. The present method is based on the locally-body-fitted Cartesian grid method, which is applicable for the viscous flow computation over the complicated geometry and is easy-to-use requiring less expertise. Since this grid generation method has not been established due to the lack of robustness for feature preserving technique, robust feature preserving technique is developed in this study. In addition, the present method is validated and its prediction capability is confirmed through the application to the typical test problems including transonic airfoil flows, supersonic hemisphere flows, and subsonic/supersonic separated flow over the Apollo capsule. Finally, the proposed aerodynamic analysis method is applied to an aerodynamic analysis of aerodynamic fin effect on the single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) rocket vehicle.