Nonequilibrium Flow of Nitrogen Behind a Strong Normal Shock Wave

Abstract

The nonequilibrium flow properties behind a strong normal shock wave in the nitrogen gas are studied by using a set of equations which was developed previously by the author to be applied to a quasi-one-dimensional flow of a partially ionized nitrogen. Numerical solutions of this set of equations show some typical flow properties in nonequilibrium. The flow is not only in chemical nonequilibrium, but also in thermal nonequilibrium between electrons and heavy particles. Regardless of its initial values, the electron temperature is always lower than that of heavy particles.