Numerical study of hypersonic dissociated air past blunt bodies

Abstract

Nonequilibrium hypersonic flows past axisymmetric blunt bodies at zero incidence have been numerically simulated by the Navier-Stokes equations with finite-rate dissociation for both noncatalytic and fully catalytic surfaces. The high-temperature air mixture was described by the nonequilibrium Lighthill's dissociation gas model including the equilibrium vibrational excitation of diatomic gas molecules. The numerical results reproduced the detailed physics and the rate of heat transfer in the stagnation region, which agreed very well with the classic theories and experimental measurements.