Thermal Protection Analysis of Hypersonic Reentry Nose Cone With Multirow Disk Spike Using Lateral Single/Multijets: A Computational Investigation

Abstract This research examines the efficacy of employing lateral multijets to decrease thermal effects on the blunt body featuring a multirow disk (MRD) spike, which holds significant importance in the design of high-speed vehicles. The main novelty of the model is the combination of the spike with multiple row disk along with the injection of the coolant jet. The study thoroughly analyzes the cooling mechanism of lateral jets and assesses the influence of coolant jet positioning on heat reduction of the nose and mechanical spike. This study employed Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with shear stress transport turbulence model for the simulation of the high-speed flow around the nose cone with multirow disk spike. A comparison is made between the effectiveness of CO2 and helium jets, both as single and multiple injectors. The results display that a single CO2 jet released near the tip of the spike is the most effective, and placing the lateral coolant injector away from the main body effectively manages aerodynamic heating. Additionally, the research compares the heat load reduction achieved by triple lateral jets and concludes that the CO2 jet is the most efficient option for thermal protection of the main body. The role of the spike in reduction of the heat load is reduced 20% when CO2 jet is released from all lateral injectors.