Numerical calculation of united flow field and base heating of a satellite

In the launch process of a satellite, heating on the base can be serious with pneumatic heating of the back-flowing plume and radiation of the plume and high temperature surfaces. Overheating is very dangerous for the switch installed on the flange base. So investigating the heat flux on the flange base and switch is important for ensuring normal operation of the satellite. The object of this paper is to calculate heat fluxes on the flange base and switch of satellite. First, solution of the N-S equation is coupled solved with the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) to simulate the united flow field of the engine, the backflow field and pneumatic heating flux of the plume. Secondly, the discrete ordinate method is used to compute the incident radiation flux from the plume. The network method is used to compute the incident radiation flux from high temperature surfaces at the satellite base in the end. The results show that both the temperature and pressure of gas after the nozzle exit are relatively low, and the gas molecule in the backflow is especially sparse. The maximum heating flux on the flange base and switch comes from radiation of high temperature surfaces. The pneumatic heating of the backflow is small and radiation from the plume is inappreciable. Heat fluxes on the flange base and switch vary widely: highest at the lateral part of the switch, greater than 103 W/m²; smaller on the flange base, with 400 W/m²; and smallest on the switch top with 200 W/m².