Low-Fidelity Numerical Modeling and Simulations

High-fidelity simulations are generally very accurate in the results they provide but, consume a lot of computational resources and often need several days to complete accurate simulations on multi-core machines. Low-fidelity analytical simulation methods provide a very approximate yet reasonably valid results for hypersonic continuum regimes, to enable a fast computation of the flow behavior in the re-entry trajectory. This is very essential because of strong coupling between the flight dynamics and the flow behavior.

In this section, we will discuss about some analytical “local panel methods” and their validity in the hypersonic continuum regime with examples that give an idea about the trade-offs in terms of accurate simulations. We will also discuss the idea behind these methods and the physical reasoning behind their predictions.