A Statistical Model For Vibration-Chemical Reaction Interaction In Gas Mixtures.

A statistical model previously developed for vibration-dissociation in pure gases is generalized to reacting gas mixtures. Then, as a typical example, the case of air at high temperature is presented and the evolution of the nonequilibrium region behind a strong shock wave is analyzed. The influence of the present model on the interaction of the vibrational excitation and the chemical reactions is particularly examined and compared with previous semi-empirical models: This leads to the conclusion that, owing to its physical basis and its simplicity of implementation in existing codes, the present model may be considered as a valuable tool in the computation of complex hypersonic flows. © 2005 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]