An aerodynamic configuration optimization method for reducing lateral aerodynamic nonlinearity of reentry vehicle

In order to reduce the lateral nonlinear aerodynamic characteristics of lifting reentry vehicles in the transonic regime, a new adaptive optimization method for the aerodynamic configuration has been developed in the present study based on the Kriging meta-model. To test this method, a standard lifting reentry vehicle is designed, which lateral aerodynamic force in the transonic regime is calculated using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, and those parameters for the wing configuration which may affect the lateral aerodynamic characteristic are analyzed. Based on the optimization process for the aerodynamic configuration, the lateral aerodynamic characteristics for the samples are first evaluated, then a meta-model is established to map the configuration parameters to the derivatives of the lateral moment, so that the optimization of the aerodynamic configuration with the objective of minimizing the nonlinearity of the lateral moment is achieved. Aerodynamic data of the optimized vehicle configuration suggests that the new design method is useful and effective. This work introduces a new way of designing aerodynamic configuration, which can reduce the difficulty in control system design as well as ensure flight safety for reentry vehicles.