Author ORCID Identifier
Date Available
8-2-2018
Year of Publication
2018
Degree Name
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering (MSME)
Document Type
Master's Thesis
College
Engineering
Department/School/Program
Mechanical Engineering
First Advisor
Dr. Alexandre Martin
Abstract
Modeling the atmospheric entry of spacecraft is challenging because of the large number of physical phenomena that occur during the process. In order to study thermal protection systems, engineers rely on high fidelity solvers to provide accurate predictions of both the thermochemical environment surrounding the heat shield, and its material response. Therefore, it is necessary to guarantee that the numerical models are correctly implemented and thoroughly validated. In recent years, a high-fidelity modeling tool has been developed at the University of Kentucky for the purpose of studying atmospheric entry. The objective of this work is to verify and validate this code. The verification consists of the development of an automated regression testing utility. It is intended to both aid code developers in the debugging process, as well as verify the correct implementation of the numerical models as these are developed. The validation process will be performed through comparison to relevant ablation experiments, namely arc-jet tests. Two modules of the code are used: fluid dynamics, and material response. First the fluid dynamics module is verified against both computational and experimental data on two distinct arc-jet tests. The material response module is then validated against arc-jet test data using PICA.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2018.355
Recommended Citation
Schroeder, Olivia, "Verification and Validation Studies for the KATS Aerothermodynamics and Material Response Solver" (2018). Theses and Dissertations--Mechanical Engineering. 122.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/me_etds/122
