Monte Carlo Simulation of Hypersonic Rarefied Gas Flow using Rotationally and Vibrationally Inelastic Cross Section Models

The rotational collision number, vibrational relaxation time, and transport coefficients of real gases were used to determine key functions for molecular collision models. The functions determined were the characteristic function for rotationally inelastic collision cross section in the statistical inelastic cross section (SICS) model, parameters for the transient probability density function in the vibrationally inelastic collision cross section (VICS) model, and the probability density function of the deflection angle for these diatomic models. The validity of the present models was investigated by applying a Monte Carlo simulation of hypersonic rarefied gas flow around a flat plate and comparing the results with experimental data. The modeled profiles of rotational temperature and rotational energy distribution near the plate were in reasonable agreement with those found by experiment.