Simulation of nonequilibrium plasma experiments

The nonequilibrium plasmas are numerically simulated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations that were extended for the effects of finite-rate chemical reactions and internal energy relaxation. The CFD method is based on a finite-volume approach, and used implicit Gauss-Seidel line-relaxation to obtain steady-state solutions. The computational method is used to simulate the flow in the test sections. About half of the mass flow is introduced into the torch head radially, resulting in a medium to high degree of swirl at the entrance to the test-section. Previous simulations that did not account for swirl did not agree with the experiments; the current simulations properly account for swirl, and initial results indicate better agreement with the data.