Nonlinear Shear and Heat Transfer in Hypersonic Rarefied Flows Past Flat Plates

Abstract

This paper is a theoretical modeling study of the nonlinear transport of momentum and energy in a hypersonic rarefied flow past a sharp leading-edge flat plate at zero angle of attack. A characteristic parameter is introduced to describe the non-Newtonian shear and non-Fourier heat transfer features in the near-continuum flow regime via approximate analyses on the corresponding terms from the Burnett equation. Modified formulas based on are proposed to quantitatively predict the skin friction and heat flux along the plate, and the Reynolds analogy is proved to still be valid in the near-continuum flow regime. The physical meaning of and the flow mechanism are discussed. The direct simulation Monte Carlo method is also employed to validate the analytical results and to show the existence of a general analogy between the skin friction and heat flux in the whole flow regime from the continuum through the transition to the free molecular flow limit.