Radiative-convective heating of the surface of the Martian descent vehicle MSL with allowance for the turbulent nature of the flow

Abstract

A spatial computer model based on the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations together with the Baldwin-Lomax and Prandtl algebraic models of turbulent mixing was used to calculate the radiative-convective heat transfer on the surface of the MSL descent vehicle. The intensification of convective heat transfer on the leeward side of the frontal aerodynamic shield and the superiority of the radiative heat flux density over the convective one on the rear surface are shown. The calculations were performed using the model of a physically and chemically nonequilibrium gas. A comparison is made with the results of calculations using other computational models and with flight data on the heat load on the descent vehicle obtained during the MSL descent in the dense layers of the Martian atmosphere.