APPLICATIONS OF BURNETT EQUATIONS FOR INTERNAL FLOWS

K. L. Guo and G. S. Liaw

Department of Civil Engineering
Alabama A & M University
Normal, AL 35762
Email: aamklg01@aamu.edu

Some internal flows are very complicated, such as nozzle flow, because of the nonlinear nature
inherent in the strong coupling of the turbulence flow and chemical reaction. Furthermore, due to a significant gas flow expansion, the density may drop by three orders of magnitude or more and the local Knudsen
number may increase three to four orders of magnitude. The flow may fall locally into or close to the transitional regime. After gas exits the nozzle, it forms the plume flow with Knudsen number larger than 0.1,
and becomes fully transitional flow. A similar flow may also exist in Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems
(MEMS) and in semiconductor processing. In these applications, the Knudsen number may be large because the characteristic length is micro-scale or the gas flow is low density.
For transitional flow, there are very few test facilities to provide experimental data and the only
alternative is numerical simulation. Many researchers have pointed out that the Burnett equations can provide more accurate solutions than the Navier-Stokes equations for these flows [1-11]. For micro-channel
flows, the DSMC method will encounter some difficulties. Because micro-channel flow has a very large
aspect ratio and a larger transverse gradient, a large number of cells must be used. In addition, due to a
relatively large channel length and small flow velocity, the simulation requires a very large number of time
steps to reach steady state. The statistical scatter of DSMC results is a big problem. For the simulation of
micro-channel flows, velocity boundary conditions at both the inlet and outlet cannot be provided directly,
because experimental measurements can only provide the total flux rate and pressure data. Some kind of
pressure boundary conditions must be adopted and the accuracy of boundary conditions is also a problem.
Usually, the Knudsen number is not very large. Therefore, the Burnett equations with slip wall condition
may be a good approach for micro-channel flows [12-14].
Written in a strong conservative form, the three dimensional Burnett equations in Cartesian coordinates coupled with the species transport equations can be written as shown:

+ ( E Ev ) + ( F Fv ) + (G Gv ) = H
t x
y
z

(1)

where x, y, and z are Cartesian coordinates, Q is the dependent variable, and E, F, and G are the convective
flux vectors:

u
v ,
Q =

w
e

Yi

2
u
uv ,
E =

uw
ue

uY i

uv
v 2 ,
F =

vw
v e

vY i

uw
vw
G =
2
w
we

wY i

(2)

The specific total energy, e, is given as:

Ni
1
e = ei + (u 2 + v 2 + w 2 )
2
i

(3)

where is the density, u, v, and w are the Cartesian velocity components, and p is the average static pressure. The subscript i identifies each chemical species and Ni is the total number of the species. For the ith
& i are its mass fraction, specific internal energy, enthalpy, and production rate, respecies, Yi, ei, hi, and w

i are the diffusion velocity components.

spectively. u i , vi , w
The viscous flux vectors Ev, Fv, and Gv are represented as:

xx

xy
,
Ev =
xz

u + v + w q
xy
xz
x

xx

u
Y

i i
0

zx

zy
,
Gv =
zz

u + v + w q
zy
zz
z

zx

wi Yi

yx

yy
,
Fv =
yz

u + v + w q
yy
yz
y

yx

v
Y

i i
0

0
0
H =
0
0

w& i

(4)

The stress tensor and heat flux vector equations can be expressed as:

ij = ij(0 ) + ij(1) + ij( 2 ) ,

qi = qi(0) + qi(1) + qi( 2)

Components of the second order terms or the Burnett terms, ij

( 2)

( 2)

and qi

(5)

(i and j = 1, 2, 3), have been

derived by the authors. They can be rewritten as shown in the following sections.
Zeroth-order terms in Cartesian coordinates are:

(xx0 ) = (yy0 ) = (zz0 ) = p

(xy0 ) = (yx0 ) = 0

(xz0 ) = (zx0 ) = 0

(yz0 ) = (zy0 ) = 0

and

q x( 0 ) = q y(0 ) = q z( 0) = 0

(6)

Firstorder approximations in Cartesian coordinates can be expressed as:

4
2
u x + (v y + w z )
3
3
4
2
= v y + (u x + w z )
3
3
4
2
= w z + (u x + v y )
3
3

1)
(xx
=

1)
1)
(xy
= (yx
= (u y + v x )

1)
(yy

1)
(xz
= (zx1) = (u z + w x )

(zz1)

1)
1)
(yz
= (zy
= (v z + w y )

(7)

and

q (1) x = Tx ,

q (1) y = T y ,

q (1) z = Tz

(8)

Second-order Burnett terms in Cartesian coordinates can be seen as follows:

xx =
( 2)

2
2
2
2
2
[a1ux + a2 (uy + uz2 ) + a3 (vx + wx ) + a4 (vy 2 + wz 2 ) + a5 (vz 2 + wy 2 ) + a6 (uxvy
p

+ ux wz ) + a7 (u y vx + uz wx ) + a8v y wz + a9 v z wy + a10 RTxx + a11R(Tyy + Tzz )

RT 2
R
RT
RT
RT 2
2
xx +a13 (yy +zz) +a14 2 x +a15 2 (y + z ) + a16 Tx x

+a12

+a 17

R
R
R
2
2
( Ty y + T z z ) + a 18 T x 2 + a19 (T y + Tz )

T
T

(9)

[a1 vy 2 + a2 (vx 2 + vz 2 ) +a 3 (u y 2 + wy 2 ) + a 4 (u x 2 + wx 2 ) + a5 (u z 2 + wz 2 )
p
+ a6 (u x v y + v y w z ) +a 7 (u y v x + v z w y ) + a 8u x w z + a 9u z w x
2

yy

(2)

RT
RT
RT
( xx + zz ) + a14 2 y 2
yy +a13

R
R
R 2
2
+ z ) + a16 T y y + a17 (Tx x + Tz z ) + a18 T y

+ a10 RTyy + a11 R(Txx + Tzz ) + a12

zz

( 2)

+ a15

RT
2
(x
2

+ a19

R
2
2
(T x + T z )]
T

(10)

2
[a1 wz 2 + a2 (wx 2 + wy 2 ) + a3 (u z 2 + v z 2 ) + a4 (u x 2 + v x 2 ) + a5 (u y 2
p

+ v y ) + a6 (u x wz + v y wz ) + a7 (u z wx + v z w y ) + a8 u x v y + a 9 u y v x + a10 RTzz
2

RT
RT
RT 2
zz + a13
( xx + yy ) + a14 2 z

RT
R
R
R 2
+ a15 2 ( x2 + y2 ) + a16 Tz z + a17 (Tx x + Ty y ) + a18 Tz

R 2
2
+ a19 Tx + T y ]
T
+ a11 R(Txx + T yy ) + a12

xy(2) = yx (2) =

2
[b1(u x uy + vx vy ) +b2 (w x wy + v zw x + u zwy ) + b3 (u x v x
p

+u y v y ) + b 4u z v z + b 5 (v x w z + u y w z ) + b6 RTxy + b7
+b 9

(11)

RT
R
x y + b10 ( x Ty + y T x )
2

RT
R
xy + b8 Tx Ty
T

(12)

 xz

(2)

2
= zx =
[b1(u x u z + w x w z ) +b2 (vx vz + vx wy + u yvz ) + b3 (u x wx
p
RT
R
xz + b8 TxTz
+ u z wz ) + b4u y wy + b5 (v y wx + u z wy ) + b6 RTxz + b7
T

RT
R
+ b9 2 x z + b10 ( x Tz + z Tx ) ]

(13)

2
[b1(v yv z + wyw z ) +b2(uyuz + u zvx + u ywx ) + b3 (vywy
p
RT
R
+v z w z ) + b 4v x w x + b 5 (u x v z + u x w y ) + b6 RTyz + b7
yz + b8 TyTz

T
RT
R
+ b9
y z + b10 ( y Tz + z T y ) ]
2

(14)

(2 )

yz ( 2 ) = zy (2 ) =

2
[c1 u xx + c2 (u yy + u zz ) + c3 (v xy + wxz ) + c4 1 u xTx + c5 1 (v y Tx + wzTx )
T
T

1
1
1
1
+c6 (uyTy + u zTz + wx Tz ) + c7 vx Ty + c8 u x x + c9 (v y x + wz x )
T
T

1
+ c10 (u y y + v x y + u z z + w x z ) ]

1
1
q y(2 ) =
c1v yy + c 2 (v xx + v zz ) + c 3 (u xy +wyz ) + c4 vyTy + c5 (uxTy + wzTy )
[

T
T
1
1
1
1
+c6 (vx Tx + vz Tz + wy Tz ) + c7 u y Tx + c8 vy y + c9 (ux y + wz y )

T
T
1
+ c10 (u y x + v x x + v z z + wz z ) ]

1
1
q z( 2 ) =
c1w zz + c 2 (w xx + w yy ) + c 3 (u xz + v yz ) + c 4 w z Tz + c5 (u x Tz
[

T
T
1
1
1
1
+vyTz ) + c6 (wx Tx + vz Ty + wyTy ) +c7 u z Tx + c8 wz z + c9 (u x
T

T
1
z + v y z ) + c10 (u z x + w x x +v z y + w y y ) ]

qx

( 2)

(15)

(16)

(17)

where u x represents u x , u xx represents u x , and et cetera. a j , b j , c j are derived coeffi2

cients, which are given in Ref [8]. If the zeroth-order approximation is considered, the equations are the
Euler equations. If the first-order approximation is also take into account, the resulting equations will be the
Navier-Stokes equations. When all of the second-order Burnett terms are included, the derived equations
are called the Burnett equations. The limitation, characteristics, stability, and solving procedure of the Burnett equations and wall boundary conditions (slip velocity and temperature jump) have been broadly reviewed and discussed in Ref [8-11].
For turbulence flow, some type of turbulence model, such as a two-equation turbulence model, must be
used. All the turbulence models are coupled to the Burnett equations only through the turbulent viscosity.

For two-equation turbulence models, the governing equations of the kinetic energy, , and dissipation,
, can be written as:

k
k

+
( kU j ) =
[( + t )
] + t G
t
x j
x j
k x j

(18)

( U j ) =
[( + t )
] + (C1 t G C 2 )
+
k
x j
x j
x j
t

(19)

The turbulence eddy viscosity, t , is defined by:

t = C 2 /

(20)

As an application, Burnett equations were used for nozzle flows. In this study, the Burnett solutions were obtained for the SSME nozzle turbulence flow. The typical pressure, density, temperature, and
Mach number contours of the flow are plotted in Figure 1. The pressure profiles along the central line and
along the wall of the nozzle are given in Figure 2. The Mach number profile along the central line is plotted
in Figure 3. The Burnett solutions of the chemical reacting flow will be given in Ref [15].

REFERENCES
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.

Fiscko, K. A. and Chapman, D. R., Hypersonic Shock Structure with Burnett Terms in the Viscous
Stress and Heat Flux, AIAA paper 88-2733, 1988.
Zhong, X., MacCormack, R. W. and Chapman, D. R., Stabilization of the Burnett Equations and Application to High-Altitude Hypersonic Flows, AIAA paper 91-0770, 1991.
Comeaux, K. A., Chapman, D. R. and MacCormack, R. W., An Analysis of the Burnett Equations
Based on the Second Law of Thermodynamics, AIAA paper 95-0415, 1995.
Balakrishnan, Ramesh and Agarwal, Ramesh K., A Kinetic Theory Based Scheme for the Numerical
Solution of the BGK-Burnett Equations for Hypersonic Flows in the Continuum-Transition Regime,
AIAA paper 96-0602, 1996.
Balakrishnan, R., Agarwal, Ramesh K. and Yun, Keon-Young, Higher-Order Distribution Functions,
BGK-Burnett Equations and Boltzmann's H-theorem, AIAA paper 97-2551, 1997.
Balakrishnan, Ramesh and Agarwal, Ramesh K., Numerical Simulation of the BGK-Burnett Equations for Hypersonic Blunt Body Flows Using the Kinetic Wave-Particle Flux Splitting Algorithm,
AIAA paper 98-0848,1998.
Agarwal, Ramesh K., Yun, Keon-Young and Balakrishnan, Ramesh, Beyond Navier Stokes: Burnett
Equations for Flow Simulations in Continuum-Transition Regime, AIAA paper 99-3580, 1999.
Guo, K. L., and Liaw, G. S., Numerical Predictions of the Transitional Flow past Blunt Bodies,
AIAA paper 2001-0228, 2001.
Guo, K. L. and Liaw, G. S., Numerical Simulation of the Flow Around a Flying Vehicle with High
Speed at High Altitude (HCS013), Huntsville Computer Simulation Conference, Oct. 2000.
Guo, K. L. and Liaw, G. S., A Modified NPARC Code: the Burnett Equations Solver, TFAWS 2000,
NASA/GRC, Cleveland, OH, Aug. 2000.
Guo, K. L., Liaw, G. S. and Chou, L. C., Implementation of the Burnett Terms into the NPARC Code
for Predicting the Low Density Flows, AIAA paper 99-0746, 1999.
Guo, K. L. and Liaw, G. S., A Review: Boundary Conditions for the DSMC Method, AIAA paper
2001-2953.
Guo, K. L., Liaw, G. S. and Chou, L. C., Numerical Predictions of the Transitional Flow Over an Elliptic Cylinder by the Burnett Equations and the DSMC Method, AIAA paper 99-3457, 1999.
Guo, K. L., Liaw, G. S. and Chou, L. C., The Prediction of the Blunt Body Near-Wake Flows by a
Modified Direct Simulation Monte Carlo Method, AIAA paper 98-2672, 1998.
Guo, K. L. and Liaw, G. S. The Burnett Solutions of Nozzle Chemical Reacting Flows, to be submitted to 8Th AIAA/ASME Joint Thermophysics and Heat Transfer Conference, St. Louis, MO, 2002.

PRESSURE CONTOUR

10

Pc
Pw

Pc, Pw

10

10

10
DENSITY CONTOUR

10

Figure 2. The pressure profiles along central line

and along the wall of the nozzle

TEMPERATURE CONTOUR

M
5

3
MACH NUMBER CONTOUR

Figure 1. The pressure, density, temperature, and

Mach number contours of the nozzle
turbulence flow

Figure 3. The Mach number profile along central

line of the nozzle