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Rarefied, superorbital flows in an expansion tube

V. Wheatley (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
H.S. Chiu (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
P.A. Jacobs (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
M.N. Macrossan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
D.J. Mee (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)
R.G. Morgan (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia)

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow

ISSN: 0961-5539

Article publication date: 1 June 2004

554

Abstract

This paper describes a free‐piston driven expansion tube and its instrumentation. The facility is used to generate rarefied flows at speeds of approximately 10 km/s. Although the flow in the tube itself is in the continuum regime, rarefied flow conditions are achieved by allowing the test gas to further expand as a free jet into the facility's test section. The test flow is surveyed to provide bar‐gauge pressure measurements. Numerical simulation is then used to describe more fully the test flow properties. The flows produced are suitable for the aerodynamic testing of small models at superorbital speeds and should provide data that are suitable for the calibration of Direct Simulation Monte‐Carlo codes.

Keywords

Citation

Wheatley, V., Chiu, H.S., Jacobs, P.A., Macrossan, M.N., Mee, D.J. and Morgan, R.G. (2004), "Rarefied, superorbital flows in an expansion tube", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 14 No. 4, pp. 512-537. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615530410532277

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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