Three-dimensional supersonic flow past blunt bodies with contour discontinuities,with account for equilibrium and frozen state of the gas in the shock layer

An algorithm is devised for calculating by the finite difference method the supersonic flow region for three-dimensional steady-state flow of a viscous gas past a blunted body with many contour discontinuities. The state of this gas at high hypersonic flight speeds can be characterized by equilibrium or frozen physicochemical processes. Generally speaking, any arbitrary number and sequence of either compression or expansion discontinuities is permitted. The computational scheme adopted provides identification of the vortex layers, regions with different equations of state, and so on. We use a flow model that is either frozen throughout the entire shock layer or only in the portion of the layer adjacent to the body surface. The pressure at certain points on the surface of spherically blunted cones with half-angles θ?10° may differ by a factor of 2 or more in equilibrium and frozen flows. Example calculations are presented, and the results are analyzed.