Planetary Atmospheres, Basic Thermodynamics and Regimes

In Sessions 2 to 4 we shall revue some of the basic phenomena relevant to capsule aerothermodynamics prior to the more detailed Sessions later in the course. Much of the material in these first Sessions is undergraduate material and refers to simple methods in order to introduce the student to the subject with the emphasis on understanding the phenomena rather than a briefing on state of the art techniques. However understanding aerothermodynamics requires understanding of basic mathematics, physics and chemistry which is assumed for this course. A short list of references is given to each section which has deliberately been kept small such that the student should aim to read all of these in detail. Some of the classic works have been included which although early give good detailed explanations of the subject phenomena. Session 2 Begins with the atmosphere structure followed by some basic thermodynamics used in aerothermodynamics, and ends with a revue of the classical aerodynamic and aerothermal regimes encountered by a capsule during entry.