Re-entry Capsule

One of the most dangerous times during a space flight is the re-entry process. The spacecraft experiences extreme heat loading as it slows while entering the atmosphere and it is imperative to be able to accurately predict not only the aerodynamic loads, but the heating loads as well to prevent the destruction of the spacecraft. 

​

For this simulation, a generic reentry capsule was simulated reentering the Earth's atmosphere. A five species/seventeen reaction fluid chemistry model was used to account for the dissociation of air under high temperatures. The geometry for the model was generated using SolidWorks, meshed with Ansys, solved using Loci/CHEM, and post processed using Ensight.