CRITICAL HYPERSONIC AEROTHERMODYNAMIC PHENOMENA

John J. Bertin, Russell M. Cummings
2006 Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics  
The challenges in understanding hypersonic flight are discussed and critical hyper sonic aerothermodynamics issues are reviewed. The ability of current analytical meth ods, numerical methods, ground testing capabilities, and flight testing approaches to predict hypersonic flow are evaluated. The areas where aerothermodynamic short comings restrict our ability to design and analyze hypersonic vehicles are discussed, and prospects for future capabilities are reviewed. Considerable work still
more » ... to be done before our understanding of hypersonic flow will allow for the accurate pre diction of vehicle flight characteristics throughout the flight envelope from launch to orbital insertion. Figure 1 Knowledge Management Space.
doi:10.1146/annurev.fluid.38.050304.092041 fatcat:24kc2p2bubfnxbcjuquuyrxowa