Developing a predictive model for low-temperature Laval nozzles with applications in chemical kinetics

Laval nozzles are used in the CRESU (“Cinétique de Réaction en Écoulement Supersonique Uniforme”) method to generate a collimated low temperature (5–200 K), low pressure (30–500 Pa), high Mach number (1 < M < 20) supersonic jet. Laval nozzles have been designed using the Method of Characteristics (MOC) since the development of CRESU, which is an analytical method that assumes inviscid, isentropic flow, and is routinely used to design nozzle profiles for a particular gas and temperature with a uniform shock free exit. This study aims to provide a robust computational framework to overcome the limitations of the MOC while also providing recommendations on the numerical model setup required to model a low-temperature supersonic jet. It also discusses the blockage effects when using the Pitot tube method for flow characterization, the influence of inlet turbulence and reservoir size. Numerical results are validated using two different experimental apparatuses from research groups at the University of Leeds and the University of Birmingham. Finally, a MATLAB framework was developed and has been provided as an open source toolbox to allow any user to perform computational fluid dynamics on any Laval nozzle, with the ability to change nozzle geometry, operating conditions and bath gas. The toolbox has been rigorously tested against many benchmark cases, which shows that steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes with the k-omega-shear stress transport turbulence model can be used to accurately predict global quantities, such as average temperature in the stable region of the supersonic jet.