Session BD - Shock and Detonation Waves.
ORAL session, Sunday morning, November 24
Room 2, OnCenter
The standard implementation of Bird's Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method for the simulation of multiple-specie flows uses single-specie transport data as input to an ad hoc combining formula to define parameters used in binary collisions between non-like species. To ascertain the suitability of this approach, we focus on the details of translational nonequilibrium in the flow of a binary mixture of noble gases. Existing experimental results for the one-dimensional reflection of a shock wave in a mixture of helium (He) and xenon (Xe) yield a standard of comparison. The molecular weight and diameter of He:Xe are sufficiently disparate so that the relevant time scales of the reflection process are distinct. Simulations are performed on the Intel Paragon using an adaptation of the DSMC method suitable for the parallel computing environment. Using the best characterizations of noble gas intermolecular potentials that have been published to date, we are able to produce simulations of the reflection process which compare favorably with experiment over a range of Xe concentrations. Investigations of various combining rules to arrive at non-like specie collision parameters indicate that any reasonable combining rule works provided that the single-specie data is physically realistic.