Analysis And Performance Enhancement of Aero Spike

Through Geometry Modification

Authors: Pulyala Jayanth Reddy

Kushaal Bandaru
K V N B Sai Krishna Mohan
Prabhudev B M

Presenting Author: Kushaal Bandaru Paper ID: DES-114

1
Abstract:
• Aero spikes play a major role in increasing the performance of a blunt
body
• This paper presents a study on modification of an existing geometry
of aero spike
• ANSYS is used to solve the flow field equations
• A reference geometry is taken to compare the results
• Mach contours, Static pressure contours and Static Temperature
contours are produced and compared in this study
Contents:
• Introduction
• Methodology and Modelling
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
Introduction:
• Supersonic vehicles travel at speeds > Speed of sound
• Mach number > 1

Fig. 1: Supersonic vehicle (Source: Google)

• Two limitations of supersonic re-entry vehicles:
1. Drag force
2. Surface thermal loads
• Aero-spikes are employed to overcome these limitations
• Strong bow shock is replaced by weak oblique shock
• A zone of re-circulating flow occurs

Fig. 2: Representation of flow field around blunt body with and without spike [8]
Aim of the project:
• To modify the geometry of the spike
• Simulate the new geometry
• Reduce the static temperature
• Reduce the static pressure
• To enhance the overall performance of the vehicle
Methodology and Modelling:
• Geometry:

Fig. 3: Base geometry [10] Fig. 4: Modified nose configuration

 Methodology and Modelling:
• Geometry

Fig. 5: 3D view of spike and blunt body

• Grid generation
• Techniques utilized
• Face split – 5 faces
• Edge sizing
• Bias factor
• Mapped face meshing
• Refinement
• 30960 mapped quadrilaterals

Fig. 6: Meshed flow field

• Grid Independency study

Fig. 7: Grid independency study

• Free stream and boundary conditions:
Property Value
Mach number (Ma) 5 (Hypersonic)
Temperature (T) 216.7 K
Pressure (P) 12076 Pa
Density (ρ) 0.194 Kg/m
Dynamic viscosity (μ) 1.789×105 N. s/m
Table.1: Free stream conditions
• Solver considerations:
• Density based system
• Air is treated as ideal gas
• SST k-ω turbulence viscosity
• Courant number = 3
• Axis symmetry
Results and discussions:
• Study validation
• The work done by Qihao Qin [10] is
validated by Mach contours
• The flow simulations for the
modified geometry (b) are similar to
the results produced by Qihao Qin
(a)
• Due to ‘Hypersonic buzz’
phenomenon, time dependent flow
pulsations are observed in Qihao
Qin’s results
Fig. 8: Mach contour comparison: (a)
Reference (b) Present work
• Comparison of Mach contours
• No significant changes are observed in the flow field
• The shockwave is extended till the surface in both the cases with a low
velocity region in blue colour

Fig. 9: Mach contours of (a) Base geometry and (b) Modified geometry
• Comparison of static temperature contours
• No significant variation in flow field
• Maximum Static temperature reduced by 200 K

Fig. 10: Static temperature contours of (a) Base geometry and (b) Modified geometry
Results and discussions:

Fig. 11: X-Y plot of static temperature along the body

• Comparison of Static pressure contours
• The maximum pressure is generated at the cone region where the shock
generated at the nose is extended till the cone region
• Maximum Static pressure is reduced by 33 KPa (16% reduction)

Fig. 12: Static pressure contours of (a) Base geometry and (b) Modified geometry
Conclusion:
• The base geometry is modified aerodynamically to reduce pressure
and temperature on the surface of the body
• Modified spike geometry produced enhanced results
• Significant decrease in Static Temperature is observed
• Maximum Static Pressure is reduced without any disturbance in the
flow field
• Drag force is reduced from 33.93N to 29.44 N (13% reduction)
• Overall performance of the body or vehicle increases
References:
[1] Menezes,V., Saravanan, S., and Reddy,K. P. J., “Shock Tunnel Study of Spiked
Aerodynamic Bodies Flying at Hypersonic Mach Numbers,” Shock Waves, Vol. 12,
No. 3, 2001, pp. 197–204. doi:10.1007/s00193-002-0160-3
[2] White, J. T., “Application of Navier–Stokes Flowfield Analysis to the
Aerothermodynamic
Design of an Aerospike-Configured Missile,” AIAA Paper 1993-0968, 1993.
[3] Z. Wang, X. Sun, W. Huang, S. Li, L. Yan, Experimental investigation on drag and
heat
flux reduction in supersonic/hypersonic flows, Surv. Acta Astronaut. 129
[4] Meyer, B., Nelson, H. F., and Riggins, D. W., “Hypersonic Drag and Heat-Transfer
Reduction Using a Forward-Facing Jet,” Journal of Aircraft, Vol. 38, No. 4, 2001, pp.
680–686. doi:10.2514/2.2819
References:
[5] Riggins, D., Nelson, H. F., and Johnson, E., “Blunt Body Wave Drag Reduction
Using Focused Energy Deposition,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 37, No. 4, 1999, pp. 460–467.
doi:10.2514/2.756
[6] K V N B Sai Krishna Mohan et al 2018 IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 377 012096,
doi:10.1088/1757-899X/377/1/012096
[7] Menezes, V., Saravanan, S., and Jagadeesh, G., “Experimental Investigations of
Hypersonic Flow over Highly Blunted Cones with Aerospikes,” AIAA Journal, Vol. 41,
No. 10, 2003, doi:10.2514/2.1885
[8] Shuai Guo, Jinglei Xu, Qihao Qin, and Rui Gu. "Fluid–Thermal Interaction
Investigation of Spiked Blunt Bodies at Hypersonic Flight Condition", Journal of
Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 53, No. 4 (2016), pp. 629-643. DOI: 10.2514/1.A33370
[9] R. Kalimuthu, R. C. Mehta, E. Rathakrishnan. Experimental investigation on
spiked body in hypersonic flow. The Aeronautical Journal, Vol. 112, No. 1136,
October 2008.
References:
[10] Qihao Qin, Jinglei Xu, Shuai Guo, Fluid-thermal analysis of aerodynamic
heating over spiked blunt body configurations, Acta Astronautica, Volume
132, 2017, Pages 230-242, ISSN 0094-5765
[11] Li, Zhenhuan, Chuang Sun, Xinlin Xia, and Xiaolei Li. 2018. “Numerical
Simulation of Aerodynamic Heating over Solid Blunt Configuration with
Porous Spike.” Journal of Aerospace Engineering 31 (6): 04018083.
doi:10.1061/(asce)as.1943-5525.0000901.
[12] Gopalan, Jagadeesh & Menezes, Viren & Reddy, K P & Hashimoto,
Tokitada & Sun, Miygno & Takayama, Kazuyoshi. (2003). Hypersonic Buzz
Phenomenon on the Spiked Blunt Cones. 10.2514/6.2003-284.
[13] Reddy, P., Bandaru, K., Mohan, K. and Prabhudev, B. (2019). Investigation
on effect of spike geometry on spiked nozzle performance using
computational tools.
Thank you