Fluid-Thermal Interaction Simulation of a Hypersonic Aircraft Optical Dome

Hypersonic aircraft design is an enabling technology. However, many problems are encountered, including the design of the hood. The aircraft optical dome can become heated due to aerodynamic effects. Since the optical dome of a hypersonic aircraft should satisfy optical imaging requirements, a conventional ablative coating cannot be adopted. The aerodynamic heating characteristics during the whole flight must be studied. In this study, a numerical simulation method for the aerodynamic heat of hypersonic aircraft under long-term variable working conditions is proposed. In addition, the numerical simulation of the external flow field and structure coupling of the aerodynamic heat problem is performed. The dynamic parameters of temperature and pressure are obtained, and the thermal protection basis of the internal equipment is obtained. Numerical results indicate that the average temperature and maximum temperature of the optical dome for inner and outer walls exhibit an “M” shape with time, with two high-temperature cusps and one low-temperature cusp. The time of average temperature coincides with that of maximum wall temperature. During the flight, the wall pressure changes with time, exhibiting the characteristics of higher temperature at both ends of the flight and lower temperature in the middle. The structural temperature of the hypersonic aircraft is higher than that of the external flow behind the shock wave after 310 s. Therefore, this study provides a reliable reference for the preliminary design and parameter research of optical domes of hypersonic aircraft.