Shape Optimization of Reentry Vehicles to Minimize Heat Loading

What is it about?

Decreasing the heat loading is important because the mass of the heat shield is proportional to the total heat absorbed by the vehicle. Heat loading is strongly affected by the vehicle’s shape. By using high fidelity analyses tools, a design method is developed to find the optimum shape that minimizes the heat loading. The designed geometry reduces the heat loading significantly without increasing the maximum surface heat flux and temperature.

Featured Image