Partially ionized gas flow and heat transfer in the separation, reattachment, and redevelopment regions downstream of an abrupt circular channel expansion.

Heat transfer and pressure measurements obtained in the separation, reattachment, and redevelopment regions along a tube and nozzle located downstream of an abrupt channel expansion are presented for a very high enthalpy flow of argon. The ionization energy fraction extended up to 0.6 at the tube inlet just downstream of the arc heater. Reattachment resulted from the growth of an instability in the vortex sheet-like shear layer between the central jet that discharged into the tube and the reverse flow along the wall at the lower Reynolds numbers, as indicated by water flow visualization studies which were found to dynamically model the high-temperature gas flow. A reasonably good prediction of the heat transfer in the reattachment region where the highest heat transfer occurred and in the redevelopment region downstream can be made by using existing laminar boundary layer theory for a partially ionized gas. In the experiments as much as 90 per cent of the inlet energy was lost by heat transfer to the tube and the nozzle wall.