Direct Simulation of Fluid-Structure Interaction of Compression Ramp with an Embedded Compliant Panel

Sustained flight at hypersonic Mach numbers presents a unique challenge to robust vehicle design and control. Extreme aerothermal loading coupled with finite-rigidity, multifunctional structures can yield significant fluid-thermal-structural interaction (FTSI) in the skin panels and control surfaces of reusable hypersonic aircraft. Specifically, the excitation of a thermomechanically-compliant panel via external Shock-Wave Boundary-Later Interaction (SWBLI) presents an imperfectly-understood phenomenon with direct bearing on viable hypersonic vehicle design. The present talk outlines recent high-fidelity, multiphysics simulations of unsteady two-dimensional Mach 6 flow over a compression ramp featuring an embedded compliant panel. Unsteady surface-pressure loading generated by the SWBLI is compared between compliant and non-compliant configurations, and SWBLI-excited FSI is demonstrated. The low-frequency coupling between the corner separation region and the structure is investigated.