Decoupled finite element approach for high-mach flows with finite-rate chemistry

The high-energy conditions present in hypersonic flow fields can result in substantial thermal and chemical non-equilibrium effects. In particular, chemical reactions in the shock layer can significantly alter the gas composition and heat transfer to a wall. A decoupled implicit approach using an edge-based Finite Element methodology is proposed to compute steady-state flow for a gas mixture in chemical non-equilibrium. The chemical source term is validated using zero-dimensional adiabatic reactor-type simulations. The methodology is evaluated on an inviscid hypersonic air flow in thermo-chemical non-equilibrium past a 2D cylinder. Good agreement is found with reference solutions.