https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/techandscience/china-flags-fatal-flaw-in-nasa-s-hypersonic-aerodynamics-software/ar-BB1lg7vl 6park.com
China flags ‘fatal flaw’ in NASA’s hypersonic aerodynamics software 6park.com
Chinese scientists have allegedly discovered a major flaw with one of NASA’s main hypersonic aerodynamics modeling software programs. 6park.com
The scientists claim that the Vulcan-CFD software can not accurately model the complex chemistry at high speeds on the hypersonic vehicle’s surface.

Used by NASA’s Langley Research Centre, reliance on it could lead to “inevitably erroneous outcomes,” the Chinese team has said. 6park.com
This is especially the case when it comes to simulating high-temperature ablation, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on Monday. 6park.com
Vulcan-CFD’s issues have been highlighted in a new paper by the Hypersonic Technology Laboratory of the National University of Defence Technology. This peer-reviewed paper was published in the Chinese academic journal Acta Aerodynamica Sinica on March 14. 6park.com
Led by Professor Liu Jun, the paper explains that when an aircraft’s speed exceeds Mach 5, intense friction with the air generates sizzling temperatures that can ionize air molecules and spark chemical reactions. If not modeled accurately, this could impact the effective development of working hypersonic vehicles.