Computation of hypersonic flow of a diatomic gas in rotational nonequilibrium past 3D blunt bodies using the Generalized Boltzmann Equation

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Abstract

The results of 3-D numerical simulations of hypersonic flow of a diatomic gas, namely the nitrogen past 3-D blunt bodies (an axisymmetric blunt body, bicone and a hollow-cylinder-flare) at low to high Knudsen numbers Kn are presented. In a previous paper, AIAA 2007-0205, flow field simulations in a monoatomic gas were reported by employing several computational models namely the Navier-Stokes equations, Burnett equations, Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC), and the classical Boltzmann equation. The effect of Knudsen number Kn varying from 0.01 to 10 was investigated for Mach 3 flow past a 2D blunt body. In a follow-up paper, AIAA 2007-4550, computations for flow of nitrogen in rotational non-equilibrium past a 2D blunt body were reported by solving the Generalized Boltzmann Equation (GBE) [1]. In this paper, the hypersonic flow fields past complex axisymmetric blunt bodies at angle of attack in a diatomic gas are computed using the 3D GBE code for Kn varying from 0.1 to 10. In the GBE (same as the Wang-Chang Uhlenbeck Equation (WC-UE) except that it includes the degenerate rotational energy states explicitly), the internal and translational degrees of freedom are considered in the framework of quantum and classical mechanics respectively. The computational framework available for the standard Boltzmann equation (for a monoatomic gas with translational degrees of freedom) [3] is extended by including the rotational degrees of freedom in the GBE. The general computational methodology for the solution of the GBE for a diatomic gas is similar to that for the standard BE except that the evaluation of the collision integral becomes significantly more complex due to the quantization of rotational energy levels. The solution of GBE requires modeling of transition probabilities, elastic and inelastic cross-sections etc. of a diatomic gas molecule, needed for the solution of the collision integral. An efficient computational methodology has been developed for the solution of GBE for computing the flow field in diatomic gases at high Mach numbers.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication41st AIAA Thermophysics Conference
StatePublished - 2009
Event41st AIAA Thermophysics Conference - San Antonio, TX, United States
Duration: Jun 22 2009Jun 25 2009

Publication series

Name41st AIAA Thermophysics Conference

Conference

Conference41st AIAA Thermophysics Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CitySan Antonio, TX
Period06/22/0906/25/09

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