Dynamic Stability Analysis of Hypersonic Transport During Reentry

Dynamic stability analysis is performed for a typical future hypersonic transport vehicle during atmospheric flight. Unsteady aerodynamic data in the form of indicial responses are generated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. Computations needed at multiple Mach numbers and associated angles of attack are computed in a single job by using dual-level parallel script. Validity of the indicial approach is established by comparing results with experiment and the time-integration method. Flutter boundaries associated with pitch and heave rigid-body degrees of freedom are computed. Effect of position of the mass center on flutter boundaries, which is more predominant in the transonic regime, is shown. This work advances stability analysis procedures for next-generation hypersonic vehicles.