Computation of weakly ionized air flow in thermochemical nonequilibrium over sphere–cones

The weakly ionized high enthalpy flow in thermochemical nonequilibrium over blunt bodies at zero incidence is investigated. The numerical technique uses time dependent Navier–Stokes equations which relies on a multi-block finite volume scheme based on a second-order accurate Total-Variation-Diminishing. The convective flux terms are calculated by Riemann’s solvers based on a MUSCL approach, and the viscous terms are discretized by second-order central difference. The flowfield is thermally characterized by multi-temperatures, and the correction of the speed of sound due to the electron translational temperature has been included. An evaluation of aerothermodynamics parameters is carried out for RAM-C flights (which is a 9° sphere–cone). A good comparison is shown with previous simulations and experimental data.