Aerodynamic Simulations of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Overview

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations support the design and analysis of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). CFD analyses are used to assess key aspects of vehicle performance during launch aborts, atmospheric entry, descent, and landing. CFD is also used to assist wind tunnel testing and flight testing.

Project Details

CFD simulations are used to predict the aerodynamic performance of the Orion Launch Abort Vehicle (LAV) and crew module. These simulations are used for nearly all phases of flight, including nominal launch, aborted launch, stage separation, reentry at speeds ranging from hypersonic to subsonic, and parachute deployment.

CFD simulations of abort maneuvers are used to analyze the interactions of plumes from the LAV's propulsive jets, and to assess the vehicle's guidance and control capabilities. Other simulations model the wake behind the Orion crew module during atmospheric entry and descent to develop trajectory modeling and support design and analysis of the parachute deployment system. CFD methods are validated with wind tunnel data and are then used to predict flight vehicle performance.

Results and Impact

These ongoing CFD simulations provide the Orion MPCV Project with key performance predictions for conditions that are difficult or impossible to obtain using ground-based testing or flight testing. Simulation data are used to build high-level aerodynamic models, which are then used to assess comprehensive vehicle performance and support the development of guidance and control systems.

Role of High-End Computing Resources

Simulations of MPCV aerodynamics are computationally challenging because they must resolve complex, multi-scale aerodynamic phenomena and need to accurately model sub-grid-scale physics, such as flow transition and turbulence. NASA supercomputing resources enable efficient predictions of the aerodynamic performance of complex geometries and flow physics across a complete design space, which would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain.