Numerical Investigation of Nonequilibrium Plasma Flows in Constrictor- and Segmented-Type Arc Heaters

摘要

Numerical simulations are carried out and the distributions of flowfield properties are obtained fornnonequilibriumflows in a 20 kWconstrictor-type and a 750 kWsegmented-type arc-heated wind tunnel. In these arcnheaters, it is confirmed that each plasma flow is highly in nonequilibrium and arc discharge plays critical roles. Thenflowfield is described by the Navier–Stokes equations with a multitemperature model. To validate the presentnnumerical model, the numerical solutions are compared with the corresponding experimental data. The flowncharacteristics in the 20 and 750 kWarc heaters (e.g., the arc discharge and the supersonic expansion) become clearnthrough the present simulations. In particular, the computed results for the 20 kW arc heater indicate almost fullndissociation/ionization reactions and thermochemical equilibrium in the constrictor section, while strongnnonequilibrium clearly appears in the nozzle section.