CODE CALIBRATION PROGRAM IN SUPPORT OF THE AEROASSIST FLIGHT EXPERIMENT

The code calibration program for the Langley Aerothermodynamic Upwind Relaxation Algorithm (LAURA) is reviewed with the emphasis directed toward support of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment (AFE). The flight project is designed to obtain data that will be used in the validation of computational fluid dynamic approximation methods. Comparisons between experimental data and numerical simulation focus on perfect-gas tests over a scale model of the AFE and on flight and ground tests that challenge some aspect of the thermochemical nonequilibrium model. In the first case, the gas model is simple, but the grid-related problems of defining the real vehicle are present. In the second case, the vehicle geometries are simple, but thermochemical processes must be modeled correctly to compare with the experimental data. These comparisons are described as calibration runs because they test elements of the numerical simulation, but no single data set adequately simulates the full-scale AFE flight conditions. Comparisons between computation and experiment over a broad range of data sets show generally good agreement, though some aspects of the numerical model require further development. Recent developments in a computational singular perturbation procedure, used to identify critical reactions in the chemical kinetic model, are also discussed. © 1989 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All Rights Reserved.