Piclas: A Highly Flexible Particle Code for the Simulation of Reactive Plasma Flows

Abstract

The PICLas 1 code is a parallel high-order three dimensional coupled particle-in-cell and direct simulation Monte Carlo solver. As other state-of-the-art simulation codes, PICLas couples methods that consider charged particles within electrostatic or electromagnetic fields as well as particle collisions with chemical reactions, which are handled in a stochastic manner. Possible chemical reactions that occur within a plasma are modeled by employing macroscopic Arrhenius or microscopic Q-K models. Application areas include the simulation of gyrotron tubes, electric propulsion systems, atmospheric entry maneuvers and laser ablation.