Simulation of Mach 3 Cylinder Flow Using Kinetic and Continuum Solvers

Abstract

The objective of this work is to study the performance of the unified kinetic/continuum solver referred to as the Unified Flow Solver (UFS) for a Mach 3 flow past a cylinder by comparing its results from those of a traditional Navier-Stokes equation solver. The intention is to benchmark and validate UFS to appeal to a wider group of users interested in solving flow problems of practical applications in the kinetic-continuum flight regime. This unified computational tool is being developed under the sponsorship of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to solve both rarefied and continuum flow regimes. Some of the problems where such a solver would be used are re-entry vehicles, exhaust nozzle and plume flows, and MEMS/NANO devices, where a diverse range of conditions from continuum, to transition and rarefied flow regimes are encountered.