Hypersonic Aerothermal Simulation
CFD + FEM geometry optimization for a spaceshot program
- Lvl II
- Rocket class
- CFD+FEM
- Coupled analyses
- Hypersonic
- Target regime
Problem
The team's Level II vehicle pushes toward regimes where aerodynamic heating and structural response interact — geometry that looks fine at low speed can fail at the speeds a spaceshot program demands.
Motivation
Spaceshot ambitions need analysis the team can trust and re-run. I joined the simulations effort to build that aerothermal/aerostructural picture before hardware commits.
Constraints
- Open-source toolchain — OpenFOAM on Linux, no commercial CFD budget
- Results must be consumable by other subteams through design reviews and documentation
Process
- 01
Aerothermal & aerostructural CFD/FEM
Performed coupled analyses in OpenFOAM (C++/Linux-based CFD) to evaluate and optimize vehicle geometry for hypersonic performance.
- 02
Trajectory & propulsion estimation
Estimated height-vs-time performance for Level I and II rocket models in OpenRocket and FinSim to anchor the analysis cases.
- 03
Review & documentation
Carried results through design reviews and maintained task documentation in GitHub so the analysis survives team turnover.
Key decisions
OpenFOAM over commercial CFD packages
Why · Free, scriptable, and fully reproducible — any teammate with Linux can re-run the exact case. The steeper learning curve is a one-time cost; the reproducibility pays every semester.
Results
- ✓Improved predicted hypersonic performance through geometry optimization.
- ✓Documented, version-controlled simulation workflow used across subteams.
Lessons learned
- An analysis nobody else can re-run isn't engineering infrastructure — version control and documentation are part of the simulation.