Rate-Controlled Constrained Equilibrium for Nozzle and Shock Flows

Abstract

The performance of different constraints for the rate-controlled constrained-equilibrium (RCCE) method is investigated in the context of modeling reacting flows characteristic of hypervelocity ground testing facilities and reentry conditions. Although the RCCE approach has been used widely in the past, its application in non-combustion-based reacting flows is rarely done; the flows being investigated in this work do not contain species that can easily be classified as reactants and/or products. The effectiveness of different constraints is investigated before running a full computational simulation, and new constraints not reported in the existing literature are introduced. A constraint based on the enthalpy of formation is shown to work well for the two gas models used for flows that involve both shocks and steady expansions.