Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2006
Using a test-particle Monte Carlo method the general features of a gas expanding from a circular nozzle into a vacuum were investigated. Calculations were performed by considering the flow to be uniform and axial at the exit plane of the nozzle with an exit Mach number of 3 and a throat Reynolds number of 25. Results are presented for the density, mean flow velocity and kinetic temperature of the gas. Near the axis of the jet the calculated density distributions were found to agree well with those given by Robertson & Willis. Results are also presented for regions far from the jet's axis where no other solution is available.