Trajectory-based flow–thermal coupling methodology with high-efficiency mesh deformation and recessed surface data interpolation

A trajectory-based iterative coupling method is established for the flow-thermal coupled analysis of hypersonic vehicles during atmospheric reentry. Specifically, an efficient radial basis function (RBF) mesh deformation technique is developed based on spatially-nested submodel definition and a multilevel greedy algorithm, which enables accurate capture of ablation morphologies and efficient deformation of computational meshes. Additionally, in order to interpolate the thermal protection system (TPS) material response data on a recessed surface of unknown mathematical expression, a data processing algorithm is further established. Finally, an iterative approach for flow-thermal coupling simulation is presented based on the established mesh deformation technique and the recessed surface data interpolation method. This coupling method is well evaluated through a set of test cases, including trajectory-based simulations of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule and a hypersonic nose tip. The predicted results agree well with the reference data, indicating the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method.