DSMC analysis of rarefied gas flow over a rectangular cylinder at all Knudsen numbers

The present study is concerned with the flow behavior of the rarefied gas o ver a rectangular square cylinder. Attention has been focused on the transi tion regime between the continuous flow (at low Knudsen number) and the mol ecular flow (at high Knudsen number). The direct simulation Monte Carlo met hod (DSMC) is employed for predicting the distributions of density, velocit y, and temperature for the external cross-flow. Mean while the pressure, sk in friction, and net heal transfer coefficients on the surfaces of the cyli nder are also evaluated. The length (l) and width (h) of the cross-section of the cylinder are both fixed at 0.06 m. The Mach number (Ma) ranges from 0.85 to 8, and the Knudsen number (Kn) is in the range 0.01 less than or eq ual to Kn less than or equal to1.0. Results for various parameter combinati ons are presented. For some special cases, the numerical predictions are co mpared with existing information, and close agreement has been found.