A two-temperature gas-kinetic scheme for hypersonic non-equilibrium flow computations

Accurate aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic predictions are crucial for numerous hypersonic applications. This paper proposes a gas-kinetic scheme coupled with a two-temperature kinetic model, which distinguishes between the translational–rotational and vibrational modes of temperature. Compared with one-temperature model and the translational–rotational multi-temperature model, the proposed model provides a more physically accurate simulation of real gas effects when vibrational energy modes of air are excited. On the other hand, it is computationally simpler than multi-temperature model with independent translational, rotational, and vibrational modes. The scheme is implemented on both structured and unstructured grids. To further improve the robustness for strong shock and rarefaction waves, the discontinuity feedback factor is employed instead of traditional limiters. Numerical verifications are conducted on one-dimensional shock structure, two-dimensional (2D) hypersonic flow over a cylinder, 2D hypersonic flow over a wedge and 2D Edney type IV shock/shock interaction. Compared with experimental data, the reference results from direct simulation Monte Carlo method and Navier–Stokes solvers, the present method demonstrates accurate prediction of the thermally non-equilibrium shock wave structures and hypersonic flow fields.