EVALUATING TEST PARAMETERS IN AN ARC WIND TUNNEL

Experimental tests in the arc wind tunnel in Naples (named SPES), aimed at stating the rarefaction level of the jet, were previously processed by a steady, one-dimensional and non-diffusive code. In this paper the same experimental data have been processed once again by more reliable codes like the Navier-Stokes (FLUENT) and the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DS2V) solvers, in order to consider the influence of the viscosity, the thermal conductivity and the diffusion of chemical species. The evaluation of the rarefaction level relies on the computation of a number of parameters and on the comparison of the measured drag coefficients with the ones reported in the published literature and the ones obtained reducing the drag computed by DS2V. Even though the revised rarefaction level and the Mach number of the jet are lower than the ones computed formerly, however the present analysis confirmed the capability of SPES to be a facility for continuum low-density, high Mach number testing. A proper procedure for the computation of the thermo-fluid-dynamic parameters of the jet was also established