A hybrid particle/continuum approach for nonequilibrium hypersonic flows

A hybrid particle-continuum computational framework is developed and presented for simulating nonequilibrium hypersonic flows, aimed to be more accurate than conventional continuum methods and faster than particle methods. The frame work consists of the direct simulation Monte Carlo-Information Preservation (DSMC-IP) method coupled with a Navier-Stokes solver. Since the DSMC-IP method provides the macroscopic information at each time step, determination of the continuum fluxes across the interface between the particle and continuum domains becomes straightforward.; Buffer and reservoir calls are introduced in the continuum domain and work as an extension of the particle domain. At the end of the particle movement phase, particles in either particle or buffer cells are retained. All simulated particles in the reservoir cells are first deleted for each time, step and re-generated based on the local cell values. The microscopic velocities for the newly generated particles are initialized to the Chapman-Enskog distribution using an acceptance-rejection scheme.; Continuum breakdown in a flow is defined as when the continuum solution departs from the particle solution to at least 5%. Numerical investigations show that a Knudsen-number-like parameter can best predict the continuum breakdown in the flows of interest.; Numerical experiments of hypersonic flows over a simple blunted cone and a much more complex hollow cylinder/flare are conducted. The solutions for the two geometries considered from the hybrid framework are compared with experimental data and pure particle solutions. Generally speaking, it is concluded that the hybrid approach works quite well. In the blunted cone flow, numerical accuracy is improved when 10 layers of buffer cells are employed and the continuum breakdown cut-off value is set to be 0.03. In the hollow cylinder/flare hybrid simulation, the size of the separation zone near the conjunction of the cylinder and flare is improved from the initial continuum solution to approximately that in the measured data. Numerical accuracy of the flow field varies with locations. It is also concluded that the numerical efficiency obtained with the hybrid approach is far from satisfactory. Overall, the present framework is the first fully coupled, hybrid continuum-particle method for nonequilibrium hypersonic flows and provides a solid foundation for future development.