SHOCK INTERFERENCE PREDICTION USING DIRECT SIMULATION MONTE-CARLO

The direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is used to model the flowfield produced when an incident shock impinges on an inlet cowl lip of 0.1-in. radius for flight conditions of approximately Mach 15 and 35-km altitude. The shock interaction results in a supersonic jet which can impinge on the cowl lip surface and cause extremes in surface heat transfer and pressure. Although this is a nonstandard application, DSMC offers two major advantages to the computational modeling of this problem over other schemes. The basic flow physics is simulated without the imposition of the continuum assumption, and the modeling of finite-rate chemistry is straightforward with a relatively small computational time penalty. The details of the simulation are presented with preliminary results for surface properties.