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Variation character of stagnation point heat flux for

hypersonic pointed bodies from continuum to rarefied
flow states and its bridge function study
WANG ZhiHui, BAO Lin & TONG BingGang†
Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

This paper is a research on the variation character of stagnation point heat flux for hypersonic pointed
bodies from continuum to rarefied flow states by using theoretical analysis and numerical simulation
methods. The newly developed near space hypersonic cruise vehicles have sharp noses and wingtips,
which desires exact and relatively simple methods to estimate the stagnation point heat flux. With the
decrease of the curvature radius of the leading edge, the flow becomes rarefied gradually, and viscous
interaction effects and rarefied gas effects come forth successively, which results in that the classical
Fay-Riddell equation under continuum hypothesis will become invalid and the variation of stagnation
point heat flux is characterized by a new trend. The heat flux approaches the free molecular flow limit
instead of an infinite value when the curvature radius of the leading edge tends to 0. The physical
mechanism behind this phenomenon remains in need of theoretical study. Firstly, due to the fact that
the whole flow regime can be described by Boltzmann equation, the continuum and rarefied flow are
analyzed under a uniform framework. A relationship is established between the molecular collision
insufficiency in rarefied flow and the failure of Fourier’s heat conduction law along with the increasing
significance of the nonlinear heat flux. Then based on an inspiration drew from Burnett approximation,
control factors are grasped and a specific heat flux expression containing the nonlinear term is de-
signed in the stagnation region of hypersonic leading edge. Together with flow pattern analysis, the
ratio of nonlinear to linear heat flux Wr is theoretically obtained as a parameter which reflects the in-
fluence of nonlinear factors, i.e. a criterion to classify the hypersonic rarefied flows. Ultimately, based
on the characteristic parameter Wr, a bridge function with physical background is constructed, which
predicts comparative reasonable results in coincidence well with DSMC and experimental data in the
whole flow regime.

rarefied gas effects, sharp leading edge, hypersonic, stagnation point heat flux, bridge function

In recent decades, there has been increasing interest[1,2] control. Therefore, it is required that the thermal envi-
in near space hypersonic vehicles within the field of ronment of the vehicles should be well understood, and
aeronautics and astronautics. These kinds of vehicles the heat flux of some critical places such as the stagna-
have sharp leading edges to increase the lift-to-drag ratio, tion point should be predicted accurately.
and use non-ablation thermal protection method to keep The classical Fay-Riddell equation[3] in aeroheating
the shape of leading edges and to improve the flight prediction indicates an inverse proportion relationship
Received April 27, 2009; accepted April 30, 2009
doi: 10.1007/s11433-009-0226-7
†
Corresponding author (email: tongbg@gucas.ac.cn)
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 90716011)
Contributed by TONG BingGang

Citation: Wang Z H, Bao L, Tong B G. Variation character of stagnation point heat flux for hypersonic pointed bodies from continuum to rarefied flow states and its
bridge function study. Sci China Ser G, 2009, 52(12): 2007-2015, doi: 10.1007/s11433-009-0226-7
between the heat flux and the square root of the curva-
ture radius of the leading edge:
qws ∝ 1 RN ,
where qws represents the heat flux to wall at stagnation
point, and RN is the curvature radius of the leading
edge. When RN decreases continuously and ap-
proaches to 0, Fay-Riddell equation will predict an infi-
nite heat flux qws . However, when a pointed body with
a leading edge of small curvature radius flies in the near
space atmosphere where the air density is very low,
there will come problems of hypersonic rarefied flow in
the local area near the leading edge, and Fay-Riddell
equation is believed to become invalid. This is because
Fay-Riddell equation was derived based on two hy-
potheses, one being the continuum hypothesis, and the
other being the laminar boundary layer assumption
which means the Reynolds number is sufficiently high.
In rarefied flow, the molecular collision rate is low, and
so the flow is in a thermo-chemical non-equilibrium
state. Meanwhile, the Reynolds number is so small that
stagnation point boundary layer thickens and probably
overlaps with bow shockwave, which will result in vis-
cous interaction effects to make the stagnation point heat
flux a little higher than what it would be in laminar
boundary layer case[4,5]. On the other hand, if the flow
becomes more rarefied, the continuum hypothesis will
also be invalid[6,7], and then local rarefied gas effects
play a more significant role which decreases the heat
flux to a lower value than what it would be in continu-
ous medium case. These two effects emerge successively,
competing and counteracting against each other, and
dominate in different flow regimes. The variation of
stagnation point heat flux is controlled by a complex
mechanism and characterized by a new trend.
Generally, Knudsen number Kn = λ/L is used to meas-
ure the rarefied gas effects and to classify the flows in
traditional aerodynamic and micro-flow problems, in
which λ and L represent the mean free path of molecules
and macroscopic scale in the flow, respectively. How-
ever, studies[8] have shown that Kn is only a state pa-
rameter rather than a flow parameter. Especially in hy-
personic aeroheating problems, Kn can not cover the
influences of Mach number M and gas thermal proper-
ties and so forth. It is necessary to research on the flow
mechanism in depth to explore more appropriate char-
acteristic parameters. With regard to this kind of hyper-
2008 Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015
sonic rarefied aeroheating problems, researchers[9,10] of
early period usually directly solved N-S equations or
(1) degenerative viscous shock layer (VSL) equations to
obtain some semi-empirical parameters to classify the
flows, such as Cheng’s parameter[11,12], Tsien’s parame-
ter[13] and Reynolds number behind the shockwave[5].
Furthermore, some seemingly usable bridge func-
tions[11,12,14,15] were designed based on these parameters
by fitting experimental data. More recent studies are
mostly numerical methods, including high order con-
tinuous methods (Burnett, BGK, etc.)[16,17]and discrete
Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC)[18,19] method.
Although there have been quite comprehensive and
plenty of experimental data and numerical results, it is
still not clear enough what the physical nature is behind
the variation of stagnation point heat flux from contin-
uum to rarefied flow states, which is requiring further
research. In order to reveal the physical mechanism how
rarefied gas effects influence aeroheating prediction, to
grasp the variation law and to predict the stagnation
point heat flux correctly in the whole flow regime, theo-
retical investigation is imperative to find out the influ-
ence factors, influence magnitude, and mathematically
formulated control parameters.
As we know, the variation from continuum to rarefied
flow states is a gradual process without real clear
boundaries, and the entire flow regime is described by
Boltzmann equation. N-S equations and the correspond-
ing Fourier’s law under continuum hypothesis are no
more than the first order asymptotic expansion[20] of the
Boltzmann equation in the neighborhood of equilibrium
state with sufficient molecular collisions. If the flow
gradually becomes so rarefied that non-equilibrium ef-
fects are significant, the factors that have not been taken
into account in the first order asymptotic approximation
will have non-neglectable influence on the flow. There-
fore, the invalidation of N-S equations and Fourier’s law
in rarefied flow regime can be explained from both a
microscopic and a macroscopic point of view: micro-
scopically speaking, molecular collision rate is low
when the flow is rarefied and the times of collision can
not satisfy the requirement to reach an equilibrium state
during the time that molecules pass through the flow
field; macroscopically speaking, the nonlinear factors in
the flow are significant, there no longer exists a simply
linear relationship between the heat flux and the tem-
perature gradient, and the influence of nonlinear correc-
tions must be considered.
 This paper draws on the heat flux expression of Bur- point boundary layer; there at last is a stagnation point
nett equations which are the second order asymptotic boundary layer flow clinging to the wall surface. In Fig-
expansion of Boltzmann equation, and the influence of ure 2 the subscript “∞” denotes the values of free stream
rarefied gas effects is regarded as the failure of Fourier’s quantities; u and v denote the velocity components in x-
heat conduction law along with the enhancing signifi- and y-directions, respectively; δ is the thickness of the
cance of the nonlinear heat flux. Firstly, due to the boundary layer and there exists a relationship δ ∝
symmetry and smoothness of the flowfield across the M2 Re ; Δ is the detached distance of the shockwave,
stagnation line, the heat flux expression of Burnett equa-
which is also a function of Mach number; d is the thick-
tions is simplified. Based on the general theory in hy-
ness of the shockwave itself, being of the same order of
personic stagnation point boundary layer, the control
magnitude with the molecular mean free path, namely
factors of nonlinear heat flux are grasped by order of
d ∼ λ.
magnitude estimate, and an approximate nonlinear heat
flux expression is obtained in the stagnation region of
hypersonic leading-edge. Then the ratio of nonlinear to
linear heat flux is regarded as a specific characteristic
parameter to analyze and to measure the influence of
rarefied gas effects. Finally, this parameter is used as a
flow criterion to classify the hypersonic flows in the
transition regime from continuum to rarefied flow states,
and then a bridge function with physical meaning is Figure 1 The schematic diagram of hypersonic sharp leading edge.

constructed. Moreover, DSMC method is also employed

to calculate stagnation point fluxes of hypersonic sharp
cones and wedges under various flow conditions at alti-
tudes ranging from 40 to 80 km. By comparing with the
numerical results and experimental data, it is found that
the bridge function in this paper is able to predict appro-
priate stagnation point heat flux in the whole flow re-
gime.

1 Leading edge model and flowfield pat-

tern
The near space hypersonic cruise vehicles generally
have simple geometric shapes with sharp noses and
wingtips, which are modeled respectively as small-ra- Figure 2 The magnified image of hypersonic stagnation point flow.

dius cones and wedges, as shown in Figure 1, where θ

represents half angle of the cones or the wedges. The
typical pattern of the flow near the stagnation point of a
hypersonic leading edge is shown in Figure 2 (only half
is shown due to symmetry): In front of the hypersonic
leading edge, there forms a strong bow shockwave
which compresses the airstream, and so the density,
temperature and pressure of the airstream increase while
the airstream decelerates to become a subsonic flow and
the streamlines start to deflect; when the airstream goes
on flowing towards the wall surface, the density, tem-
perature and pressure further increase to approach their
stagnation states at the external edge of the stagnation
For general supersonic flows, Δ δ and Δ d .
The shockwave separates away from the boundary layer,
and they do not interact with each other. The flow pat-
tern is comparatively simple and Fay-Riddell equation
can effectively predict the stagnation point heat flux. But
for a hypersonic flow coupled with local rarefied gas
effects, the detached distance of the shockwave is small
while the thicknesses of the boundary layer and shock-
wave itself are relatively large, and so δ + d 2 ∼ Δ
which means the boundary layer is very close to or even
overlaps with the shockwave to result in viscous interac-
tion and non-equilibrium effects. Being this case, the

Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015 2009
flow pattern is complex and Fay-Riddell equation fails. ⎡ 1 ⎛ ∂u j ∂u ⎞ 1 ∂uk ⎤
If the flow becomes more rarefied, the shockwave ×⎢ ⎜ + i ⎟− δ ⎥, (4)
⎜ ⎟ 3 ∂xk ij ⎥
merges into the boundary layer completely as well as the ⎣⎢ ⎝ i ∂x j
2 ∂x ⎠ ⎦
influence of velocity slip and temperature jump on the where μ is the dynamic viscosity coefficient, ρ is density
surface is strengthening, and the flow gradually ap- and p is pressure; δ ij is Kronecker-Delta function which
proaches free molecular flow case.
equals 1 if i = j , or 0 if i ≠ j; θ1 to θ5 are con-
2 Construction of the nonlinear heat flux stants in relation to the molecular model, and if hard
expression sphere model is employed, θ1 = 11.644, θ 2 = 5.822,

Basically, the transfers of the mass, momentum and en- θ3 = −3.090, θ 4 = 2.418 and θ5 = 25.157. q (2) and
ergy in fluid are implemented by the random movements the terms after it represent the high order nonlinear fac-
and collisions of molecules, and these processes can be tors in flow and heat transfer, but it is quite hard to be
described by Boltzmann equation. Unfortunately, solved. In addition, the stability of their solutions is still
Boltzmann equation is a complex multiple integro-diff- under investigation, both of which restrict the direct ap-
erential equation whose direct solution is extremely plication of high order approximation to very limited
vexatious if not impossible. Consequently, we have to problems only.
turn to its Chapman-Enskog asymptotic expansion[20] in In the continuous flow regime, the high order nonlin-
the neighborhood of equilibrium flow state, and obtain ear heat flux is negligible compared to q (1) . But when
some approximate equations under various conditions.
the flow becomes rarefied, the influence of the nonlinear
Suppose that the molecular velocity distribution function
heat flux will increase and even exceed that of the linear
f is of the form:
heat flux. Therefore, we attempt to write the heat flux
f = f (0) + f (1) + f (2) + (2) expression as follows:
and then, the corresponding series expansion of heat flux q = qlinear + qnonlinear , (5)
is
where qlinear is the linear heat flux, keeping the form
q = q (0) + q (1) + q (2) + (3)
like Fourier’s law, and qnonlinear represents the nonlin-
(r )
where q ( r ) = ∫ Ecf dc , E is the energy and c is the ear heat flux. For hypersonic stagnation point flow, we
can draw on the Burnett approximation, try to analyze
velocity of a molecule. q (0) = 0 is deduced under the
the major factors for heat transfer to derive a reasonable
zero order (or usually named as Euler) approximation.
formulation of qnonlinear , and extend it to the rarefied
Similarly, qi(1) = − K ∂T ∂xi is deduced under the first
flow regime.
order (or usually named as N-S) approximation, which is Referring to Figure 2 and considering the symmetry
familiar as Fourier’s heat conduction law and indicates
and smoothness of the flowfiled across the stagnation
the heat flux is proportional to the temperature gradient,
line, we have u=0, ∂ ( ρ , T , p, v ) ∂x = 0 and ∂u ∂x ≠ 0.
in which the proportionality factor K is heat conduction
coefficient. qi(2) is named as Burnett approximation, Inside the stagnation point boundary layer, ∂p ∂y ≈ 0.
and it takes the form of Therefore the normal nonlinear heat flux in the vicinity
of the stagnation can be simplified as
μ 2 ∂u j ∂T
qi(2) = θ1
⎞ μ ∂v ∂T
2
ρT ∂x j ∂xi ⎛ 8
y = ⎜ θ1 − θ 2 + 2θ5 ⎟
q (2)
⎝ 3 ⎠ ρT ∂y ∂y
μ 2 ⎡ 2 ∂ ⎛ ∂u j ⎞ ∂u j ∂T ⎤
+ θ2 ⎢− ⎜T ⎟−2 ⎥ ⎛ 2 ⎞ μ ∂u ∂T
2
ρT ⎣⎢ 3 ∂xi ⎜⎝ ∂x j ⎟
⎠ ∂xi ∂x j ⎥⎦ + 2 J ⎜ θ1 − θ 2 − θ5 ⎟
⎝ 3 ⎠ ρT ∂x ∂y
⎡ μ 2 ∂p μ2 ∂ 3μ 2 ∂T ⎤ 2 μ 2 ∂ 2v 2J μ 2 ∂ 2u
+ ⎢θ3 + θ4 + θ5 ⎥ + (θ 4 − θ 2 ) + (θ − 4θ )
⎢⎣ ρ p ∂x j ρ ∂x j ρT ∂x j ⎥⎦ ρ ∂y 2 6 4 2
3 ρ ∂x∂y

2010 Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015
 μ2 ⎡ ∂v ∂T ∂u ∂T stream, i.e. Tw Ts 1, and so we derive ρ s ρ w 1
⎢α1 ∂y ∂y + 2 α 2 ∂x ∂y
J
=
ρT ⎣ based on the premise that the pressure p is constant
∂2v ∂ 2u ⎤ along the normal to the wall surface inside the stagna-
+α 3T 2 + 2 J α 4T ⎥, (6) tion boundary layer. Besides, from eq. (7), we know
∂y ∂x∂y ⎦
where J = 0 or 1 corresponding to a two-dimensional or ∂v ∂u
(9)
axisymmetric leading edge model, respectively; the con- ∂y ∂x
stants in the region close to stagnation point. And then, the
8 orders of magnitude of the four terms in eq. (6) are es-
α1 = θ1 − θ 2 + 2θ5 ≈ 46.433,
3 timated, and the conclusion is that the latter three terms
2 are inconsequential compared to the first term, which
α 2 = θ1 − θ 2 − θ5 ≈ −17.394, has also been verified by our DSMC results. Thus, the
3
specific expression of eq. (5) in the region close to stag-
2
α 3 = (θ 4 − θ 2 ) ≈ −2.269 nation point is derived as follows:
3
and ∂T μ 2 ∂v ∂T
qs = − K + α1 . (10)
1 ∂y ρT ∂y ∂y
α 4 = (θ 4 − 4θ 2 ) ≈ −3.478. The second term on the right side of eq. (10) is the
6
The next step is to compare the order of magnitude of coupling of flow field gradient, which represents the
these four terms in the above equation to find out the influence of the nonlinear factors for the stagnation
most important factor. By referring to the general solu- point heat flux. Obviously, the relative value of nonlin-
tions of the hypersonic laminar boundary layer in the ear to linear term directly reflects the magnitude of in-
stagnation region[21], we figure out that the following fluence of rarefied gas effects.
relations are tenable Further on, a characteristic parameter W is defined as
the ratio of nonlinear to linear term in the above equa-
⎧ ∂v J dU e
⎪ ∂y = −2 dx , tion. Referring again to eq. (7), we seek a reference
⎪ value of W in the stagnation point boundary layer
⎨ (7)
⎪ ∂u = − 1 ∂ ( ρ v ) = ρ s dU e , qnonlinear 2 ⎛ μ 2 ⎞ as
⎪⎩ ∂x 2 J ρ ∂y ρ dx Wr = = 2 J α1 ⎜ ⎟ , (11)
qlinear γ ⎝ ρTK ⎠r RN
where the subscript “s” denotes the quantities under
where the subscript “r” denotes the values calculated
stagnation condition. Ue is the tangential velocity at the
based on corresponding reference enthalpy which is
external edge of the stagnation point boundary layer, and
chosen as the average value of the enthalpy at the exter-
in a hypersonic flow, ps p∞ and then
nal edge of the stagnation point boundary layer and the
⎛ dU e ⎞ 2 ( ps − p∞ ) 1 2 ps 2 as wall surface enthalpy. Air is mainly composed of oxygen
⎜ dx ⎟ ≈ ρs
≈
RN ρs
=
γ RN
, (8)
and nitrogen, both of which are diatomic molecules, and
⎝ ⎠s
so K = 19 μ R / 4 . The eq. (11) can be transformed into
where R is the gas constant, γ is the specific heat ratio
for the gas and a = γ p ρ which is defined as the 4 J 2 μ r as
Wr = 2 α1 , (12)
19 γ pr RN
speed of sound. Attention should be paid to that the high
temperature real gas effects may have a slight impact on which can be further simplified according to the shock
relations and isentropic flow relations:
the specific value of the coefficient on the right side of
4 μ 1
the eq. (8). We will make modification to the final result Wr = 2 J α1 γ − 1 r (13)
to counteract this impact, and the equation above is still 19 μ∞ Z e Re∞
believed to be tenable approximately. where Re∞ = ρ∞V∞ RN μ∞ is the Reynolds number of
The cold wall model is considered which has general free stream, Ze is the compressibility factor to account
practical significance: The wall temperature is substan- for the real gas behavior, defined as the ratio of average
tially lower than the stagnation temperature of the free molecular weight of the ideal gas to that of the high

Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015 2011
temperature real gas. The value of Ze generally increases
with pressure and decreases with temperature, ranging
from 1 to about 4. The variable hard sphere molecular
model is employed, μ ∝ T ω and viscosity index
ω ≈ 0.77. Meanwhile, because of Tr ≈ 1 2 (Tw + Ts ) ≈
Ts 2 and Ts T∞ ≈ ( γ ∞ − 1) M ∞2 2, if we choose the
specific heat ratio of air γ ∞ = 1.4 and make some sim-
plifications to the result, we finally obtain
M ∞3/ 2
Wr ≈ 2 J . (14)
Z e Re∞
We find that Wr distinguishes itself from the global
Knudsen number ( Kn∞ ∼ M ∞ Re∞ ) and Tsien’s para-
meter ( M ∞2 Re∞ )[13], and is inversely proportional to
K Λ2 , which is a commonly used semi-empirical correla-
tive parameter and was firstly introduced by Cheng[11]
based on the one order thin viscous shock layer theory,
then was modified later by Engel[12] through fitting the
experimental data to develop into the following form:
γ −1 μ T Z Re μ T
K Λ2 = ∞ Z e Re∞ ∞ r ≈ e ∞2 ∞ r . (15)
2γ ∞ μr Ts γ ∞ M ∞ μr T∞
In fact, the following relation can be easily derived
from eq. (13):
0.45 × 2 J
Wr ≈ . (16)
K Λ2
It will be seen that the reason why modified Cheng’s
parameter has the ability to predict rarefied gas effects is
that it has a clear physical meaning and its reciprocal, in
common with Wr , represents the relative magnitude of
the nonlinear factors’ influence on the calculation of
stagnation point heat flux. The modified formula based
on K Λ2 has been found to be valid up to the regime
near the free molecular flow. Similarly, the characteristic
parameter Wr derived in the near continuum flow re-
gime can also be extended to the rarefied flow regime.
In the whole hypersonic flow regime, Wr is believed to
represent the relative rarefaction magnitude of the flow
and to be a criterion of the rarefied flow.
3 Flow regime classification and study
on bridge function
The characteristic parameter Wr obtained in the previ-
2012 Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015
ous section can be used as a criterion to classify the hy-
personic rarefied flows and to construct a bridge func-
tion with actual physical background in the transition
regime from continuum to rarefied flow states. And then,
the stagnation point heat flux can be fast and correctly
predicted in the whole flow regime.
i) Wr < 0.05, where the relative error resulting from
neglecting the nonlinear factors is within 5%, eq. (1) is
acceptably tenable, and Fay-Riddell equation is able to
directly predict the stagnation point heat flux. The cor-
responding flow pattern is characterized by fairly sepa-
rate, non-interacting shockwave and boundary layer, and
the equilibrium laminar boundary layer assumption
holds.
ii) 0.05 < Wr < 0.2, where the viscous interaction
effects between shockwave and boundary layer is
gradually strengthening, the equilibrium laminar bound-
ary layer assumption loses its validity and then the in-
fluence of the nonlinear heat flux should be considered.
A dimensionless stagnation point heat flux coefficient is
introduced as Ch0 = 2qws ( ρ∞V∞3 ), and the actual heat
flux is expected to be the sum of the heat flux predicted
by Fay-Riddell equation and the nonlinear heat flux we
have analyzed in the previous section, i.e.
Ch0 = ChF − R (1 + Wr ) , (17)
where ChF − R represents the stagnation point heat flux
coefficient calculated based on the result of Fay-Riddell
equation.
iii) 0.2 < Wr < 10. In this flow regime, the higher
order terms after q (2) in eq. (3) are increasingly im-
portant, which induces a more complex intense nonlin-
earity. In addition, eq. (3) is no more than a small pa-
rameter perturbation series in the framework of con-
tinuous flow, and the continuum hypothesis is also
gradually losing its validity. Both of these determine that
there no longer exists a relatively simple formula like eq.
(10) to calculate the heat flux. However, as an extension
of the continuous model, Wr itself still represents the
relative rarefaction magnitude of the flow. If Wr grows
larger continuously, the heat flux coefficient Ch0 ap-
proaches closer to the free molecular flow limit ChFM ,
and while in the reverse direction, Ch0 approaches
closer to ChF − R . Therefore, Wr could be regarded as
the weight of the nonlinear factors’ influence and the immediate finding is that the hypersonic rarefied flow
weighted average method is used to construct the bridge criterion, Wr , is able to finely normalize the available
function. Faultily, the simple weighted average value numerical results and experimental data. For both
still has a little quantitative difference with the actual two-dimensional and axisymmetric cases, the DSMC
heat flux, which may be due to the influence of higher results and experimental data lie on a single curve, and
order terms and various approximate simplifications in Fay-Riddell curve (the solid straight line as shown in
the analysis above. For simplicity, an adjustable pa- both Figures 3 and 4) under the laminar boundary layer
rameter “c” is retained to sum up these complex factors, assumption begins to overestimate the heat flux at the
as shown in the following equation: point Wr =1. The commonly used engineering correc-
Ch + Wr ChFM
Ch0 = c F − R . (18) tion curves were mainly obtained by using the least
1 + Wr
square method through fitting the experimental data, in
After being compared with DSMC results and experi- which a representative one of Cheng’s fitting curve[11]
mental data, c = 0.77 is found to be appropriate. valid in the regime Wr <10 is shown in the figure. Ap-
iv) Wr > 10, where the flow is approaching to the
parently, it is confirmed by Figure 3 that DSMC results
free molecular flow and the heat flux is supposed to be are reasonable and accurate. Figure 4 shows the com-
calculated by free molecular flow theory. parison of bridge function in this paper with DSMC re-
sults. The application scope of eq. (17) is Wr <0.2, and
4 Results validation
eq. (18), the extended formula, is testified valid in the
In order to validate the analysis above, the authors also regime 0.2< Wr <10. It is shown that the bridge function
employed DSMC method to simulate a series of flow agrees well with the overall distribution of DSMC re-
cases under the conditions that the curvature radius of sults, and effectively predicts the stagnation point heat
the leading edge ranges from 0.02 to 2 mm, Mach num- flux, which proves the rationality and validity of the
ber from 5 to 20, the wall temperature 300 K and the physical theoretical analysis in this paper. When Wr is
altitude from 40 to 80 km (which approximately corre-
small, the slight deviation of several DSMC points from
spond to Wr = 0.05~15). This method has been recog- the predicted curve could be due to the uncertainties in
nized to be valid in both continuum and rarefied flow calculating the thermal properties of high temperature
regimes. In the simulations, the influence of real gas air.
effects including vibrational excitation and chemical
reactions of high temperature air is taken into account.
In our previous work1), the trend that DSMC results vary
with modified Cheng’s parameter K Λ2 and their com-
parison and agreement with experimental data have been
studied for both two-dimensional and axisymmetric
cases. In this paper, Wr shows a more powerful ability
than K Λ2 . Not only can Wr normalize the influence of
the curvature radius of leading edge, Mach number and
altitude, but it can also unify the analysis of two-dimen-
sional and axisymmetric cases in one framework.
Figure 3 shows the trend that the heat flux coeffi-
cients at stagnation point calculated by DSMC vary with
Wr , and their comparison with Fay-Riddell curve, an
engineering fitting curve and experimental data[12,22]. An Figure 3 Normalization of the DSMC results and experimental data.

1) Wang Zhihui, Bao Lin. Study on the aerothermodynamic characters of hypersonic small nose cone with local rarefied gas effects. Chinese Journal of Computa-
tional Physics. (In press)

Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015 2013

Figure 4 Validation for the bridge function.
5 Conclusions
This paper, on the background of the fast accurate pre-
diction of aeroheating to the new developed near space
hypersonic cruise vehicles, has studied the physical
mechanism of the variation of stagnation point heat flux
for pointed bodies from continuum to rarefied flow
states. In combination with the analysis on the flow pat-
tern, the microscopic phenomenon that insufficient mo-
lecular collisions lead to non-equilibrium effects and
rarefied gas effects has been considered to correspond to
the macroscopic phenomenon including the viscous in-
teraction effects between shockwave and boundary layer
and the failure of the continuum hypothesis. Therefore,
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2014 Wang Z H et al. Sci China Ser G-Phys Mech Astron | Dec. 2009 | vol. 52 | no. 12 | 2007-2015
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and then an investigation on the influence of nonlinear
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Firstly, the transition from continuous flow to rarefied
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Fay-Riddell equation can still be credible to predict the
stagnation point heat flux; while Wr >10, free molecular
flow theory should be employed; between them is the
transition regime from continuum to rarefied flow states,
Fay-Riddell equation is invalid, and the stagnation point
heat flux can be accurately predicted by the bridge func-
tion constructed in this paper.
The authors would like to thank Prof. JIANG GuiQing of China Academy
of Aerospace Aerodynamics for his enthusiastic help and very beneficial
advice on this research.
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