Hypersonic Flows for Reentry Problems

One of the great challenges of modem aerospace engineering is undoubt edly the prediction of hypersonic flows for the design of space vehicles. An important and continuous effort has taken place in that direction the last few years with the development of hypersonics programs such as the NASP program in the U. S. and more recently the HERMES program in Europe, which rely heavily on the the use of supercomputers. As can be expected this great challenge has been influencing both civil and military programs related to aerospace sciences and industry. Advanced mathematical models are a basic requirement for the de velopment of efficient numerical methods able to simulate accurately the phenomena that occur during the hypersonic part of the flight of space vehicles. Despite continuous advances in computer hardware and software and also the experience gained during the past three decades by researchers who have provided guidance for those who follow now, we strongly be lieve that a better understanding of hypersonic flow is still an important factor of scientific and technological progress. On the basis of this belief, the International Workshop on Hypersonic Flows for Reentry Problems, Part II, took place in Antibes, France, from 15 to 19 April 1991. This workshop, whose proceedings form this volume, was a clear continua tion of the Euro-American short courses on hypersonics held in Paris in 1987, Colorado Springs in 1989, and Aachen in 1990 and the workshop on hypersonic flow which took place in Antibes, in January 1990.