3D DSMC Simulation of Rarefied Gas Flows around a Space Crew Capsule Using OpenFOAM

Zhi Shang, Shuo Chen

Institute of High Performance Computing, A*STAR, Singapore.
School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ojapps.2013.31005                

Abstract

An open source Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code, called as dsmcFoam in OpenFOAM, is used to study a blunt body with the shape of a space crew capsule return vehicle. The rarefied gas has the Knudsen number with 0.03. The flow with a Mach number 4.35 over the capsule was simulated by DSMC. The distributions of velocity field and temperature around the capsule were calculated. This study may provide some useful information for the reentry of the return vehicle.

Keywords

DSMC; Rarefied Gas; Crew Capsule; Reentry; OpenFOAM

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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