Nonequilibrium radiative hypersonic flows: Aerospace applications (Q1307881)

From the conclusion: This paper describes some aerospace applications of nonequilibrium radiative hypersonic flow. After a brief discussion of the radiative transfer, we present the governing equations for a two-phase system. A comparison of characteristic times of physico-chemical processes induced in the shock layer shows that the quasi-steady state approximation is no longer valid for the proposed flight conditions. The electronic excitation by electron impact are taken into account in the aerodynamic phase continuity equation. Each electronic level is considered as a distinct species. The electronic collisional source term is linearized in time, and a fully implicit finite volume method is used. Despite a large set of equations, species and source terms, a convergent solution is obtained for a hyperenthalpic flow in thermochemical nonequilibrium, providing an evaluation of the radiative fluxes.