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Completed TRL 4 (started at 3, targeting 6)
The primary objective of this task is to enhance HyperRad so that it is usable for entry flows containing significant regions of non-equilibrium conditions. This enhancement will bring HyperRad to a point at which it will be suitable for release as a production tool for entry aerothermodynamic analysis of flows containing non-equilibrium regions by the end of FY14. HyperRad will be considered Class E software when completed.
In addition, the Agency lacks a radiative heat code that can be fully coupled to general CFD codes. Existing coupling efforts assume one-dimensional radiation transport, which can introduce significant errors away from the stagnation region of blunt bodies. HyperRad provides this functionality and can be linked to any grid-based CFD code, structured or unstructured, providing full three-dimensional radiative transfer throughout the computational domain. As a result, any body shape, including multiple and maneuvering bodies, can be accommodated.
The current release of HyperRad is only applicable to flows in thermochemical equilibrium. The radiation from non-equilibrium gases is significantly different from that in equilibrium. Since many entry trajectories have portions during which radiative heating is significant but in which the flow is not in equilibrium, it is incumbent to generalize the physical modeling to treat non-equilibrium conditions. The existing quasi steady-state (QSS) non-equilibrium model in NEQAIR and HARA has not been updated in many years and contains a number of ad hoc modeling assumptions. It was also designed for and tested in only a narrow range of entry conditions that were deemed relevant and accessible in the time period in which it was developed.
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