Computer solutions to the problem of vibrational relaxation in hypersonic nozzle flows

Abstract

This report is an extension of an earlier note in which a simple method of estimating the distribution of vibrational temperature along a hypersonic nozzle was described. Results were presented for hyperbolic, axisymmetric nozzles with reservoir conditions 1000[les ]p0[les ] 4000 p.s.i.a., 1000[les ]T0[les ] 3000°K. The problem was subsequently programmed for the Ferranti Mercury computer at the University of London computing centre, and the results of these computations are given here. The vibrational temperatures are compared with those of the previous simple method. The distributions of pressure and temperature through the nozzle are also given and a simple method of estimating the vibrational temperature is described.