In high energy gas flows, at high velocities and high temperatures, physical and chemical processes such as molecular vibrational excitation, dissociation, ionisation or various reactions take place and deeply influence the structure of the flows. The characteristic times of these processes have the same order of magnitude as aerodynamic characteristic times, so that these reactive media are generally in thermodynamic and chemical non-equilibrium. This book presents a general introductory study of these media. In the first part their fundamental statistical aspects are described, starting from their discrete structure and taking into account the interactions between elementary particles: transport phenomena, relaxation and kinetics as well as their coupling are analysed and illustrated by many examples. The second part deals with the macroscopic re-entry bodies. Finally, the experimental aspects of these flows, their simulations in shock tubes and shock tunnels are described, as well as their application, particularly in the aerospatial domain. This book is intended for students that have acquired a basic knowledge in thermodynamics, statistical physics and fluid mechanics. It will also be of interest to engineers in research and industry, in particular in the aerospace industry, and more generally to all researchers trying to simulate and calculate complex reactive flows.

Gas Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems documents the proceedings of the 6th Colloquium held at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, 22-26 August 1977. The meeting was held under the auspices of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the International Academy of Astronautics. The scientific program included over one hundred papers. The contributions in this volume are organized into four parts. Part I contains papers on gaseous detonations. It covers topics such as theoretical model of a detonation cell; spherical detonations in hydrocarbon-air mixtures; and shock wave propagation in tubes filled with water foams. Part II presents studies on explosions, such as the detonation of hydrogen azide and propagation of a laser-supported detonation wave. Part III examines condensed phase detonations. It includes papers on the mechanism of the divergent and convergent dark waves originating at the charge boundary in detonating liquid homogeneous explosives with unstable detonation front; and initiation studies in sensitized nitromethane. Part IV presents discussions on turbulent detonations, covering topics such as the computational aspects of turbulent combustion and problems and techniques in turbulent reactive systems.

The high temperatures generated in gases by shock waves give rise to physical and chemical phenomena such as molecular vibrational excitation, dissociation, ionization, chemical reactions and inherently related radiation. In continuum regime, these processes start from the wave front, so that generally the gaseous media behind shock waves may be in a thermodynamic and chemical non-equilibrium state. This book presents the state of knowledge of these phenomena. Thus, the thermodynamic properties of high temperature gases, including the plasma state are described, as well as the kinetics of the various chemical phenomena cited above. Numerous results of measurement and computation of vibrational relaxation times, dissociation and reaction rate constants are given, and various ionization and radiative mechanisms and processes are presented. The coupling between these different phenomena is taken into account as well as their interaction with the flow-field. Particular points such as the case of rarefied flows and the inside of the shock wave itself are also examined. Examples of specific non-equilibrium flows are given, generally corresponding to those encountered during spatial missions or in shock tube experiments.

High Temperature Gas Dynamics is a primer for scientists, engineers, and students who would like to have a basic understanding of the physics and the behavior of high-temperature gases. It is a valuable tool for astrophysicists as well. The first chapters treat the basic principles of quantum and statistical mechanics and how to derive thermophysical properties from them. Special topics are included that are rarely found in other textbooks, such as the thermophysical and transport properties of multi-temperature gases and a novel method to compute radiative transfer. Furthermore, collision processes between different particles are discussed. Separate chapters deal with the production of high-temperature gases and with electrical emission in plasmas, as well as related diagnostic techniques. This new edition adds over 100 pages and includes the following updates: several sections on radiative properties of high temperature gases and various radiation models, a section on shocks in magneto-gas-dynamics, a section on stability of 2D ionized gas flow, and additional practical examples, such as MGD generators, Hall and ion thrusters, and Faraday generators.

A comprehensive overview of recent progress in nonequilibrium statistical mechanics, including applications across a range of disciplines.