Simulation of Flow Through Breach in Leading Edge at Mach 24

A baseline solution for CFD Point 1 (Mach 24) in the STS-107 accident investigation was modified to include effects of holes through the leading edge into a vented cavity. The simulations were generated relatively quickly and early in the investigation by making simplifications to the leading edge cavity geometry. These simplifications in the breach simulations enabled: 1) A very quick grid generation procedure; 2) High fidelity corroboration of jet physics with internal surface impingements ensuing from a breach through the leading edge, fully coupled to the external shock layer flow at flight conditions. These simulations provided early evidence that the flow through a 2 inch diameter (or larger) breach enters the cavity with significant retention of external flow directionality. A normal jet directed into the cavity was not an appropriate model for these conditions at CFD Point 1 (Mach 24). The breach diameters were of the same order or larger than the local, external boundary-layer thickness. High impingement heating and pressures on the downstream lip of the breach were computed. It is likely that hole shape would evolve as a slot cut in the direction of the external streamlines. In the case of the 6 inch diameter breach the boundary layer is fully ingested.