The conditions encountered by hypersonic vehicles are complex due to the non-linear, strong interaction between the flow field environment and vehicle. Successful modeling requires multi-physics capabilities that can properly take into account high-temperature gas dynamics, which includes excitation of internal energy modes, finite-rate gas chemistry, turbulent flow, and complex plasma physics, as well as the chemical and mechanical response of the vehicle heat shield surface, which includes finite-rate surface chemistry, chemical decomposition, heat conduction, and surface vibration. Spectral Sciences, Inc. proposes to enhance the existing suite of simulation tools. In Phase I, we will select key algorithmic improvements to enhance the prediction of plasma formation in the coupled environment to demonstrate a practical and accurate end-to-end simulation capability for both radar and optical signatures. Furthermore, the feasibility demonstration will provide a clear path for further enhancement of the tool during Phase II. The proposed approach is based on several innovative capabilities in our simulation capabilities including: a novel way to include critical chemical mechanisms that are importance to observables, prediction of the hypersonic environment surrounding 3D vehicle shapes that include conjugate heating effects, and unique post-processing capabilities to predict both radar and optical observables from the complex environment.
