Gas-kinetic numerical studies of three-dimensional complex flows on spacecraft re-entry

The gas-kinetic numerical algorithm solving the Boltzmann model equation is extended and developed to study the three-dimensional hypersonic flows of spacecraft re-entry into the atmosphere in perfect gas. In this study, the simplified velocity distribution function equation for various flow regimes is presented on the basis of the kinetic Boltzmann–Shakhov model. The discrete velocity ordinate technique and numerical quadrature methods, such as the Gauss quadrature formulas with the weight function 2/π^1/2exp(?V²) and the Gauss–Legendre numerical quadrature rule, are studied to resolve the barrier in simulating complex flows from low Mach numbers to hypersonic problems. Specially, the gas-kinetic finite-difference scheme is constructed for the computation of three-dimensional flow problems, which directly captures the time evolution of the molecular velocity distribution function. The gas-kinetic boundary conditions and numerical procedures are studied and implemented by directly acting on the velocity distribution function. The HPF (high performance fortran) parallel implementation technique for the gas-kinetic numerical method is developed and applied to study the hypersonic flows around three-dimensional complex bodies. The main purpose of the current research is to provide a way to extend the gas-kinetic numerical algorithm to the flow computation of three-dimensional complex hypersonic problems with high Mach numbers. To verify the current method and simulate gas transport phenomena covering various flow regimes, the three-dimensional hypersonic flows around sphere and spacecraft shape with different Knudsen numbers and Mach numbers are studied by HPF parallel computing. Excellent results have been obtained for all examples computed.