Monte Carlo computations of hypersonic interacting flows

Computations using the direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method are presented for hypersonic ows about hollow{cylinder/ are and double{cone con gurations. These computations are part of a code validation exercise. The ow conditions are in the near-continuum regime making the computations very expensive numerically. Several million particles and long run times are required. Indeed, the results presented here have not yet reached steady state despite consuming large quantities of run time. The results do indicate qualitatively the expected phenomena, such as ow separation, but it is anticipated that these structures are not yet fully resolved due to the inadequate amount of physical time that has been simulated. It is concluded that substantially larger computer resources are required in order to apply DSMC successfully to these types of ows.