Transient analysis of counterflowing jet over highly blunt cone in hypersonic flow

Understanding the characteristics of various Counterflowing jets exiting from a nose cone is crucial for determining heat load reduction and usage of this device in various conditions. Such jets can undergo several flow regimes during venting, from initial supersonic flow, to transonic, to subsonic flow regimes as the pressure of jet decreases. A bow shock wave is a characteristic flow structure during the initial stage of the jet development, and this paper focuses on the development of the bow shock wave and the jet structure behind it. The transient behavior of a sonic counterflow jet is investigated using unsteady, axisymmetric Navier–Stokes solved with SST turbulence model at free stream Mach number of 5.75. The coolant gas (Carbon Dioxide and Helium) is chosen to inject into the hypersonic air flow at the nose of the model. The gases are considered to be ideal, and the computational domain is axisymmetric. The jet structure, including the shock wave and flow separation due to an adverse pressure gradient at the nose is investigated with a focus on the differences between high diffusivity coolant jet (Helium) and low diffusivity coolant jet (CO2) flow scenarios.

► Transient behavior of a sonic counterflow jet (carbon dioxide and helium) is investigated.
► Focus of the study was the effects of unsteady turbulence flow region in the vicinity of the cone.
► We discuss about the cooling performance and shock interaction between free stream and coolant jet.
► Evolution of the bow shock and the Mach disk was studied in both helium and CO2 jet cases.
► Several shock structures were observed, including a bow shock wave, oblique shocks and Mach disks.