On nitrogen condensation in hypersonic nozzle flows: Numerical method and parametric study

A numerical method for calculating two-dimensional planar and axisymmetric hypersonic nozzle flows with nitrogen condensation is developed. The classical nucleation theory with an empirical correction function and the modified Gyarmathy model are used to describe the nucleation rate and the droplet growth, respectively. The conservation of the liquid phase is described by a finite number of moments of the size distribution function. The moment equations are then combined with the Euler equations and are solved by the finite-volume method. The numerical method is first validated by comparing its prediction with experimental results from the literature. The effects of nitrogen condensation on hypersonic nozzle flows are then numerically examined. The parameters at the nozzle exit under the conditions of condensation and no-condensation are evaluated. For the condensation case, the static pressure, the static temperature, and the amount of condensed fluid at the nozzle exit decrease with the increase of the total temperature. Compared with the no-condensation case, both the static pressure and temperature at the nozzle exit increase, and the Mach number decreases due to the nitrogen condensation. It is also indicated that preheating the nitrogen gas is necessary to avoid the nitrogen condensation even for a hypersonic nozzle with a Mach number of 5 operating at room temperatures. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.