Capturing non-equilibrium in hypersonic flows: Insights from a two-temperature model in polyatomic rarefied gases

The study utilizes a two-temperature model to analyze non-equilibrium in normal shocks within hypersonic flows in polyatomic rarefied gases. Derived from the extended second law of thermodynamics, this model separates translational and internal temperatures in polyatomic gases, providing a more accurate depiction of non-equilibrium gas flow compared to classical theories like the Navier–Stokes and Fourier (NSF) system. Notably, the analysis reveals that the two-temperature model incorporates an additional contribution to the heat flux due to the gradient of the dynamic temperature, resulting in improved accuracy, especially for high Mach numbers. Results show that the model gives satisfactory shock density and temperature profiles up to Mach 10, with very good agreement observed up to Mach 6.1 compared to the classical NSF model. We conduct an order of magnitude analysis on the dynamic temperature and heat flux gradients appearing in the new constitutive equation using the Mott-Smith method. This analysis highlights the impact of these terms on accurately modeling polyatomic gas behavior in high-speed flows. The effects of bulk viscosity and incoming temperature on shock profiles are also investigated, contributing to a better understanding of shock wave structures in polyatomic gases and their implications for hypersonic flow dynamics.