STRUCTURAL MEMBRANES 2023

A Numerical Technique for Modelling Hypersonic Inflatable Shields

  • Orlandini, Valerio (University of Rome La Sapienza)
  • Paciorri, Renato (University of Rome La Sapienza)
  • Assonitis, Alessia (University of Rome La Sapienza)
  • Saltari, Francesco (University of Rome La Sapienza)
  • Mastroddi, Franco (University of Rome La Sapienza)
  • Bonfiglioli, Aldo (Università degli Studi della Basilicata)

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The shield is an essential component of a re-entry vehicle or an interplanetary probe designed for an aerocapture maneuver, as it decelerates the capsule and protects it from the aero-thermal loads. The idea of using inflatable re-entry shields was born for significantly increasing the surface exposed to the flow without adding mass; this reduces the ballistic coefficient ensuring paths in the atmosphere that are less critical in terms of aero-thermal loads. In the proposed study we present a numerical technique, based on fluid-structure interaction, to model the behaviour of inflatable walls in hypersonic flows.