Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Simulations of Hypersonic Flows With Shock Interactions

Abstract

The capabilities of a relatively new direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code are examined for the problem of hypersonic laminar shock/shock and shock/boundary-layer interactions, where boundary-layer separation is an important feature of the flow. Flow about two model configurations is considered, where both configurations (a biconic and a hollow cylinder-flare) have recent published experimental measurements. The computations are made using the DS2V code of Bird, a general two-dimensional/axisymmetric time-accurate code. The current focus is on flows produced in ground-based facilities at Mach 12 and 16 test conditions with nitrogen as the test gas and the test models at zero incidence. The freestream Knudsen numbers, with the characteristic length equal to the test model diameter, range from 0.0008 to 0.0004, consequently demanding computations for DSMC simulations. Results presented highlight the sensitivity of the calculations to grid resolution, sensitivity to physical modeling parameters, and comparison with experimental measurements. Information is provided concerning the flow structure and surface results for the extent of separation, heating, pressure, and skin friction.