Heat Flux on Partially Catalytic Surfaces in Hypersonic Flows

摘要

The combined effects of the chemical nonequilibrium and the surface catalysis on the stagnation-point heat flux of a blunt body are investigated by Navier-Stokes calculations on a spherical model under Scirocco Plasma Wind Tunnel conditions. The freestream properties in the test section are found by means of a preliminary nonequilibrium, full Navier-Stokes computation of the nozzle flow expansion. All available numerical heat flux results are correlated as a function of a dimensionless parameter, including the simultaneous effects of the finite-gas and the surface-phase reactions. The proposed parameter, which takes into account simultaneously the nonequilibrium effects in the bulk and surface phases, correlates well with the numerical results over a blunt-body stagnation region. The final correlation formula for the stagnation heat flux can be used to correlate experimental results on different materials with known catalytic coefficients or, conversely, to determine the surface catalytic efficiency of different thermal protection materials.