Dynamic Mode Decomposition of Wake Flow Structures for Supersonic Oscillating Genesis Atmospheric Entry Capsule*

Atmospheric entry capsules experience significant oscillations and tumbling during deceleration, which can jeopardize successful parachute deployment and overall mission success.

This study employs Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) to analyze the wake flow structures of a supersonic reentry vehicle with one degree of freedom motion at Mach 1.44.

Free-Flight CFD (FFCFD) data from the US3D solver is utilized to construct the DMD analysis data matrix. Our results identified two dominant modes in the wake: a high-amplitude, damped recompression wave mode, and a low-amplitude, undamped recirculation bubble near-wake mode. The more energetic recompression wave mode dominates, correlating with the observed damped oscillatory behavior of the vehicle at Mach 1.44.

These findings offer critical insights into the aerodynamic stability of atmospheric entry vehicles, informing design strategies to mitigate oscillatory instabilities and enhance mission safety.