Effect of formation of argon clusters on a supersonic outflow into a rarefied medium

Abstract

A model of the argon condensation process has been developed for the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. The model includes the following processes: formation of dimers, merging of clusters, sticking of monomers to clusters, evaporation of monomers from clusters, and inelastic collisions between particles. The proposed model is implemented in the DSMC code SMILE++. The model is then verified and validated. Calculations of jet flows exhausting into a rarefied medium are performed on the basis of the proposed model.