Modelling Reactive Gas Flows within Shock Tunnels

Abstract

An iterative method is presented for modelling reactive gas flows within shock tunnels. The method overcomes both the problem of the stiffness of the chemical rate equations, which arises due to the greatly varying reaction' rates, and the throat singularity in the velocity equation for subsonicsupersonic flow within a Laval nozzle. The effects of Coulomb interactions which depress the ionization potential of the ionic species can also be included because of the iterative nature of the method. The method computes the state of the gas both along the flow and within the reservoir or stagnation region. Sample computations are given for air, carbon dioxide and nitrogen for reservoir-nozzle gas flows and for flows behind normal shocks.