Parametric study of heat release preceding a blunt body in hypersonic flow

A computational parametric study is presented illustrating the effects of upstream heat release on drag and heating rate in hypersonic flow over an axisymmetric blunt body. A chemical nonequilibrium viscous flow is considered with seven species; Park's two-temperature model is also used to take account of thermally nonequilibrium phenomena. Three parameters that control the heat release are introduced, and their effects on the flow structure, specifically with respect to drag and heating rate, are quantified. Results show that heat release upstream of the body can reduce not only the aerodynamic drag but also the aerodynamic heating rate at the body surface. Computed results achieved a reduction of 23% in drag and 74% in heating rate, relative to baseline values in the absence of heat release. The reduction mechanism is discussed, and dynamic pressure is shown to play an important role in the drag reduction mechanism.