Aerodinamica Ipersonica / Hypersonic Aerodynamics

The flight environment

The flight environment

The atmosphere with its properties determines the free-stream conditions for a hypersonic vehicle.
In turn, free-stream conditions govern the aerodynamic performance and the aero-thermodynamic
phenomena
Therefore, knowledge of atmospheric data is crucial for design, guidance and control of a hypersonic
flight vehicle.
For instance, during Earth re-entry, large density fluctuations, which may occur between 60 and 80
km, would have a dramatic effect on the aerodynamic drag and would cause an important range
deviation.

In this course, we will usually imply air as the considered gas. Anyway, extraterrestrial planetary
entry, which occurs at hypersonic speed, involves extraterrestrial atmospheres that are composed of
exotic gas mixtures. In some cases (for instance in the recent landing of the Huygens probe on
Titan), the atmosphere composition and properties are not precisely known and this fact poses large
uncertainties in the design of a planetary entry vehicle.

Politecnico di Torino DIASP D. D

DAmbrosio

Aerodinamica Ipersonica / Hypersonic Aerodynamics

The flight environment

The Earth atmosphere

Atmospheric composition of dry air (by volume):

Nitrogen (N2) 78.084%
Oxygen (O2) - 20.946%
Argon (Ar) - 0.934%
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 0.033%
These numbers are average numbers, which depend on the geographical location and change with time (weather
conditions, etc.)
Politecnico di Torino DIASP D. D
DAmbrosio

Aerodinamica Ipersonica / Hypersonic Aerodynamics

The flight environment

The Mars atmosphere

Atmospheric composition (by volume):

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - 95.32%
Nitrogen (N2) - 2.7%
Argon (Ar) - 1.6%
Oxygen (O2) - 0.13%
Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 0.08%

Surface pressure: 6.36 mb at mean radius (variable from 4.0 to 8.7 mb depending on season)
Surface density: ~0.020 kg/m3
Average temperature: ~210 K (-63 C)
Diurnal temperature range: 184 K to 242 K (-89 to -31 C)
Mean molecular weight: 43.34 g/mole

Politecnico di Torino DIASP D. D

DAmbrosio

Aerodinamica Ipersonica / Hypersonic Aerodynamics

The flight environment

The Titan atmosphere

Surface pressure: 1.5 bar

Surface density: ~5.3 kg/m3
Average temperature: ~94 K (-180 oC)
Mean molecular weight: 27.81 g/mole

Politecnico di Torino DIASP D. D

DAmbrosio

Aerodinamica Ipersonica / Hypersonic Aerodynamics

The flight environment

The Venus atmosphere

Atmospheric composition (near surface, by volume):

Other properties

Major:

Surface pressure: 92 bars

Surface density: ~65. kg/m3
Average temperature: 737 K (464 C)
Diurnal temperature range: ~0
Wind speeds: 0.3 to 1.0 m/s (surface)
Mean molecular weight: 43.45 g/mole

96.5% Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

3.5% Nitrogen (N2)
Minor (ppm):
Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) - 150;
Argon (Ar) 70;
Water (H2O) - 20;
Carbon Monoxide (CO) - 17;
Helium (He) - 12;
Neon (Ne) - 7

Venus is covered by a thick layer of clouds. These clouds are made mostly of sulfuric acid
and are very fast moving, going up to 220 miles per hour (350 km per hour). The clouds
rotate 60 times faster than the planet rotates. The clouds circle Venus in four Earth days;
the planet rotates around its axis in 243 Earth days. These quickly-moving clouds distribute
the heat around the planet, making the night side hot also. V-shaped cloud patterns are
visible in the middle latitudes when the clouds are examined in ultraviolet light.
The clouds rain sulphuric acid (extremely acid rain), but this corrosive precipitation does
not reach the surface. The high heat beneath the clouds (up to 220C) evaporates the rain
drops about 10 miles (30 km) above Venus.
The greenhouse effect traps heat in the atmosphere. The thick carbon dioxide atmosphere
lets very little infrared radiation escape into space; most is reflected back to the planet.
Politecnico di Torino DIASP D. D
DAmbrosio