Numerical simulation of hypersonic capsule base flow

Wake flow experiments were conducted on a scaled model of the Orion crew module designed by NASA. Experiments were performed by Calspan University of Buffalo Research Center (CUBRC) using their 48' reflected shock tunnel to investigate wake flow aerothermal quantities on the afterbody of the capsule. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of this flow were conducted by Barnhardt et al¹ in 2009 using US3D, a Navier-Stokes solver developed at the University of Minnesota. This paper presents results from the experiments as well as the previous simulations and compares them to CFD results obtained by US3D using low-dissipation numerics and more refined grids. The flows that were simulated range over three different Reynolds numbers representing low, medium and high Reynolds number wake flows. The results range from laminar, to purely RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes), to hybrid RANS-LES (Large Eddy simulations). An investigation into the accuracy of the turbulence models on the forebody was also conducted.