Heat Transfer in Planetary Atmospheres at Super-Satellite Speeds

Abstract

The equilibrium boundary layer flow at the stagnation point of a blunt body at very high enthalpies in air and in the simulated atmosphere of Venus (C02) has been calculated. The effects of dissociation and ionization are taken into account by means of the total thermodynamic and transport property concept. Correlation of the numerical results shows that a single simple equation will predict the stagnation point heat transfer rate at flight velocities between 6000 and 50,000 fps. Wall temperatures between 540° and 5400°R and stagnation pressures between 0.001 and 100 atm were considered. The same correlation equation is valid in Earth's atmosphere, as well as in the simulated atmosphere of Venus. The theoretical results are compared with experimental heat transfer data obtained in partially ionized air and in CO2. The agreement between theory and experiment is satisfactory. It is also shown that reasonable results for the heat transfer from an ionized boundary layer can be obtained from the results of Fay and Riddell by consistently neglecting the effects of ionization.