Numerical Investigation of Chemically Reacting Rarefied Hypersonic Flows Over A Backward-Facing Step

TL;DR

This study uses DSMC simulations to analyze how chemical reactions influence temperature distribution in rarefied hypersonic flows over a backward-facing step, focusing on the effects of the Knudsen number.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the impact of chemical reactions on temperature variation in rarefied hypersonic flows using DSMC methods.

Findings

Chemical reactions significantly alter temperature distribution.

Knudsen number affects flow behavior and temperature.

Comparison with non-reacting flows highlights reaction effects.

Abstract

The present study employs the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, a widely used numerical method for studying non-continuum flows, to investigate the flow characteristics of a chemically reacting hypersonic flow over a backward-facing step. This work explores the effects of the Knudsen number on the behaviour of rarefied flow and compares the results with the non-reacting flow. The primary objective of the present thesis is to elucidate the variation of temperature in the flow domain with Knudsen number. The results of the study show that chemical reactions affect the temperature distribution in the flow domain significantly.