OpenFOAM Simulations of Atmospheric-Entry Capsules in the Subsonic Regime

The open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics software OpenFOAM is gaining wider acceptance in industry and academia for incompressible flow simulations. To date, there has been relatively little utilization of OpenFOAM for compressible external aerodynamic applications. The numerous turbulence models available in OpenFOAM makes it an attractive option for evaluating alternate Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulent models to assess separated flow on atmospheric entry vehicles in the subsonic regime, where traditional turbulent models show reduced accuracy. This paper presents simulations of an axisymmetric capsule geometry at subsonic conditions using an OpenFOAM compressible flow solver. These results are compared with results from the NASA CFD code OVERFLOW and experimental data. These OpenFOAM simulations serve as a basis to explore OpenFOAMs extended turbulence models on compressible separated flows such as found on entry capsules.