Numerical Investigation of Homogeneous Nucleation and Shock Effect in High-Speed Transonic Steam Flow

Abstract

A two-dimensional compressible numerical model, in which the thermodynamic state and properties of steam were calculated by the Virial equation, was developed and used to predict the spontaneous condensation phenomenon with homogeneous nucleation in a series of Laval nozzles. The validation of the numerical results was accomplished with the experiment conducted by Moore and the results showed good agreement between numerical simulation and the experiment data. Based on the simulation, the nonequilibrium thermodynamic phenomenon, the condensation shock, and the aerodynamic shock were studied and the difference between the condensation shock and the aerodynamic shock was investigated. In addition, the influence of the aerodynamic shock on the nonequilibrium phase change was revealed.