Computational Modeling of Dusty Gas Flows in DSMC-DEM Framework

In any space exploration mission during planetary descent, when a lander approaches towards the surface of an extraterrestrial body, the expanded supersonic plume from the nozzle exhaust of positioning rockets impinges on the planetary body’s soil or regolith, and interaction between plume and surface occurs. This high-speed and high-temperature plume produces a shock, fluidizes, and ejects granular particles from a surface. This creates one or more craters, and as a result, soil particles gain momentum. Consequently, this ejected matter would disperse dust and larger debris. The particles that are so dispersed have the potential to do severe damage. The present work aims to develop a high-fidelity simulation framework capable of modeling dusty gas flows encountered during plume surface interactions. The research work aims at performing dusty gas flow dynamics using a particle-based Lagrangian-Lagrangian computational framework. The solver that needs to be developed for dusty gas flows is by coupling the in-house DSMC flow solver with the in-house DEM solver.