Study on the Leading Edge of a Hypersonic Vehicle Using the Aero-Thermoelastic Coupling Method

The characteristics of aero-thermoelastic coupling are important for the design of the leading edge in hypersonic vehicles. Herein, a fluid–structure interaction analysis is performed to study the leading edge of a hypersonic vehicle using aero-thermoelastic coupling methods. The results show that the maximum heat flux and temperature of the optimized Bézier curve leading edge are reduced to a certain extent, compared with a hemi-cylindrical leading edge, and the lift–to–drag ratios of the two models are close. The Bézier curve leading-edge model can reduce the blunt radius of the leading edge of the hypersonic vehicle and increase the aerodynamic performance without losing thermal performance.