Navier-Stokes Computation of Flows in Arc Heaters

Abstract

The existing computer code ARCFLO, which calculates the flow through the constricted-arc heater, is modified and expanded by the use of the modern computational fluid dynamics technique. The entire flowfield within an arc-heated wind tunnel, that is, from the upstream electrode chamber to the nozzle exit, is described by the Navier-Stokes equations, but the joule heating and radiative transfer phenomena are described as in the ARCFLO code. The modeling of turbulence in the constrictor region is different from that in ARCFLO. The code developed in the present work, tentatively designated as Arcflo2, requires only the mass flow rate and electrical current as inputs and describes the flow conditions from the upstream electrode region to the nozzle throat. The code reproduces the measured operating characteristics of several wind tunnels closer than the ARCFLO code