Fire II Flight Experiment Analysis by Means of a Collisional-Radiative Model. Panesi, M., Magin, T., Bourdon, A., Bultel, A., & Chazot, O. Journal of Thermophysics and Heat Transfer, 23(2):236-248, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc., 5, 2012.
Fire II Flight Experiment Analysis by Means of a Collisional-Radiative Model [pdf]Paper  Fire II Flight Experiment Analysis by Means of a Collisional-Radiative Model [link]Website  doi  abstract   bibtex   1 download  
We study the behavior of the excited electronic states of atoms in the relaxation zone of one-dimensional airflows obtained in shock-tube facilities. A collisional-radiative model is developed, accounting for thermal nonequilibrium between the translational energy mode of the gas and the vibrational energy mode of individual molecules. The electronic states of atoms are treated as separate species, allowing for non-Boltzmann distributions of their populations. Relaxation of the free-electron energy is also accounted for by using a separate conservation equation. We apply the model to three trajectory points of the Fire II flight experiment. In the rapidly ionizing regime behind strong shock waves, the electronic energy level populations depart from Boltzmann distributions because the highlying bound electronic states are depleted. To quantify the extent of this nonequilibrium effect, we compare the results obtained by means of the collisional-radiative model with those based on Boltzmann distributions. For the earliest trajectory point, we show that the quasi-steady-state assumption is only valid for the high-lying excited states and cannot be extended to the metastable states. © 2008 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.

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