Effect of Angle of Attack on Re-entry Capsule Afterbody Flowfield

This paper presents three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes simulations of the Fire II re-entry configuration. The free-stream conditions correspond to the 35 km altitude trajectory point, where the re-entry vehicle has significant oscillations about its axis. Computations are performed at varying angles of attack upto 20◦ to study its effect on the afterbody flowfield. Compared to the zero angle of attack symmetric flow, the wake is significantly altered by even a small angle of attack. There is considerable variation in surface properties between the attached windward flow and the separation bubble on the leeward afterbody. Accounting for these differences is found to improve CFD predictions as compared to inflight measurements.