Investigation of Heatflux Modification by Magnetohydrodynamic Interaction Employing the DLR CFD Code TAU

Abstract

High surface heat loads occur during the entry of a space vehicle into planetary atmosphere. Therefore, the surface of the vehicle has to be protected by a thermal protection system (TPS). Among other advanced thermal protection system concepts the heatflux reduction by magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) interaction was investigated within the DLR project THERMAS in cooperation with Dr. Daniel Potter from University of Queensland, Australia who worked at DLR during a postdoc stay. Numerical simulations of the flow around a wind tunnel probe were performed employing the DLR CFD code TAU accounting for thermal nonequilibrium of the electrons. No difference in shock stand-off distance and heat flux was found in comparison to the thermal equilibrium model without magnetic field. The mitigation of the shock stand-off distance with two temperature model was lower compared with the thermal equilibrium solution. With applied magnetic field, the surface heat flux employing the two temperature model increases while it decreases using the thermal equilibrium model.