Stati sti cal si mul ati on of reentry capsul e aero dynami cs i n hyp ersoni c near - conti nuum flows Mikhail S . Ivanov

Current challenges and problems pertaining to the development and application of the DSMC method for high-altitude aerodynamics are discussed. Attention is paid to issues related to the efficiency and accuracy of the method in the near-continuum regime, as well as its use for modeling of rarefied flows with real gas effects. Accurate prediction of force and heat aerodynamic characteristics of reentry vehicles and spacecraft requires comprehensive investigation of hypersonic flows in the near-continuum regime. A powerful software system SMILE, which uses the direct simulation Monte Carlo method as a numerical approach and is built basing on the contemporary knowledge in this field, is developed to solve advanced problems of high-altitude aerothermodynamics. Effective numerical algorithms and physically grounded models of real gas effects are implemented in SMILE. Aerodynamics of promising reentry capsule in the near-continuum regime is considered as an example.