A method for determining the degree of nonequilibrium of air and nitrogen flows near models in hypersonic wind tunnels

A procedure and correlation expressions are presented for characterizing the type of shock layer flow (equilibrium, frozen, or essentially nonequilibrium) for given operating conditions and characteristic model size. The working media examined are air and nitrogen; the models used are a sphere and a plate at angle of attack. A method is developed for determining the dynamic head from temperature and pressure measurements for the case where flow near the nozzle is nearly frozen.