A soap film shock tube to study two-dimensional compressible flows

 A new experimental approach to the study of the two-dimensional compressible flow phenomena is presented. In this technique, a variety of compressible flows were generated by bursting plane vertical soap films. An aureole and a “shock wave” preceding the rim of the expanding hole were clearly observed using traditional high-speed flash photography and a fast line-scan charge coupled device (CCD) camera. The moving shock wave images obtained from the line-scan CCD camera were similar to the x–t diagrams in gas dynamics. The moving shock waves cause thickness jumps and induce supersonic flows. Photographs of the supersonic flows over a cylinder and a wedge are presented. The results suggest clearly the feasibility of the “soap film shock tube”. Received: 11 May 2000/Accepted: 2 November 2000     

Local subsonic zones in supersonic jet flows

The results of the experimental investigation of supersonic turbulent jets with local subsonic zones of forward and reverse flow exhausting into the ambient atmosphere or an outer stream, either parallel or transverse to the jet, are presented. Some gasdynamic features of the flows containing these zones, which have not been adequately addressed in the literature, are analyzed. Thus, supersonic flows with back pressure, e.g., highly overexpanded and underexpanded jet flows, and those upstream and downstream of a jet on the leeward side of a cone in a supersonic gas stream, are studied. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 143–150, January–February, 1998.     

Shock wave standoff distance for a sphere slightly above Mach one

This paper describes a numerical simulation of bow shock formation ahead of a sphere at steady supersonic flow in the Mach number range of 1.025–1.20. Turbulent viscous flow results are presented using the Spalart–Allmaras turbulence model. The purpose of this study is to determine the shock standoff distance for a spherical projectile at slightly supersonic free flight speeds. Results are compared to experimental data, including double exposure holographic interferograms obtained from a 40 mm polycarbonate sphere launched by a light gas gun. The shock standoff distance was determined from the interferograms. The present numerical simulations were found to agree with previously published data, and reached down to M = 1.025—a range where almost no previously published data exists. The computed flow structure and shock wave locations agree well with recently obtained free-flight interferograms.     

Visualization of air flow using infrared thermography

A technique to visualize airflow using IR thermography is developed. A trace quantity of sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) gas is injected into the flow field to detect intensity patterns using a scanning IR thermography system with a single 8–13 μm bandwidth detector. Equations that relate the intensity patterns to volume-averaged temperature and SF6 mass concentration are presented. The visualization technique involves using a background surface at a known temperature different from that of the flow and image subtraction. The technique is demonstrated on free, impinging, and reattachment subsonic air jets, and is shown to be an effective means of visualizing flows at both elevated and ambient temperatures. Published online: 9 January 2003     

Predictive Capabilities of an Improved Cubic k–ε Model for Inert Steady Flows

Through an improved ε transport equation, a major quality enhancement of the cubic k–ε model, earlier developed in[13], is obtained. The ε-equation of [13],yielding good results for wall-bounded and rotating flows, is combined with the one derived by Shih et al. [20], which produces good results for free shear flows (e.g. the plane jet–round jet anomaly is resolved).Results are presented for the following flows: fully developed stationary and rotating channel and pipe, backward-facing step, sudden pipe expansion, smooth channel expansion and contraction, plane and round jet. Heat transfer predictions in turbulent impinging jets are also discussed. Accurate results are obtained for the mean flow quantities for all test cases, without case dependent model tuning. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Characteristics of unsteady type IV shock/shock interaction

Characteristics of the unsteady type IV shock/shock interaction of hypersonic blunt body flows are investigated by solving the Navier–Stokes equations with high-order numerical methods. The intrinsic relations of flow structures to shear, compression, and heating processes are studied and the physical mechanisms of the unsteady flow evolution are revealed. It is found that the instantaneous surface-heating peak is caused by the fluid in the “hot spot” generated by an oscillating and deforming jet bow shock (JBS) just ahead of the body surface. The features of local shock/boundary layer interaction and vortex/boundary layer interaction are clarified. Based on the analysis of flow evolution, it is identified that the upstream-propagating compression waves are associated with the interaction of the JBS and the shear layers formed by a supersonic impinging jet, and then the interaction of the freestream bow shocks and the compression waves results in entropy and vortical waves propagating to the body surface. Further, the feedback mechanism of the inherent unsteadiness of the flow field is revealed to be related to the impinging jet. A feedback model is proposed to reliably predict the dominant frequency of flow evolution. The results obtained in this study provide physical insight into the understanding of the mechanisms relevant to this complex flow.     

Existence and Stability of Multidimensional Transonic Flows through an Infinite Nozzle of Arbitrary Cross-Sections

We establish the existence and stability of multidimensional steady transonic flows with transonic shocks through an infinite nozzle of arbitrary cross-sections, including a slowly varying de Laval nozzle. The transonic flow is governed by the inviscid potential flow equation with supersonic upstream flow at the entrance, uniform subsonic downstream flow at the exit at infinity, and the slip boundary condition on the nozzle boundary. Our results indicate that, if the supersonic upstream flow at the entrance is sufficiently close to a uniform flow, there exists a solution that consists of a C ^1,α subsonic flow in the unbounded downstream region, converging to a uniform velocity state at infinity, and a C ^1,α multidimensional transonic shock separating the subsonic flow from the supersonic upstream flow; the uniform velocity state at the exit at infinity in the downstream direction is uniquely determined by the supersonic upstream flow; and the shock is orthogonal to the nozzle boundary at every point of their intersection. In order to construct such a transonic flow, we reformulate the multidimensional transonic nozzle problem into a free boundary problem for the subsonic phase, in which the equation is elliptic and the free boundary is a transonic shock. The free boundary conditions are determined by the Rankine–Hugoniot conditions along the shock. We further develop a nonlinear iteration approach and employ its advantages to deal with such a free boundary problem in the unbounded domain. We also prove that the transonic flow with a transonic shock is unique and stable with respect to the nozzle boundary and the smooth supersonic upstream flow at the entrance.     

“Non-free” interaction of plane shock waves and the boundary layer in the neighborhood of the leading edge of a plate with slip

The interaction between a normally impinging shock wave and the boundary layer on a plate with slip is studied in the neighborhood of the leading edge using various experimental methods, including special laser technology, to visualize the supersonic conical gas flows. It is found that in the “non-free” interaction, when the leading edge impedes the propagation of the boundary layer separation line upstream, the structure of the disturbed flow is largely identical to that in the developed “free” interaction, but with higher parameter values and gradients in the leading part of the separation zone. The fundamental property of developed separation flows, namely, coincidence of the values of the pressure “plateau” in the separation zone and the pressure behind the oblique shock above the separation zone of the turbulent boundary layer, is conserved. Moscow. e-mail: ostap@inmech.msu.su. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 57–69, May–June, 2000. The work was carried out with financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 97-01-00099).     

The shock–vortex interaction patterns affected by vortex flow regime and vortex models

We have used a third-order essentially non-oscillatory method to obtain numerical shadowgraphs for investigation of shock–vortex interaction patterns. To search different interaction patterns, we have tested two vortex models (the composite vortex model and the Taylor vortex model) and as many as 47 parametric data sets. By shock–vortex interaction, the impinging shock is deformed to a S-shape with leading and lagging parts of the shock. The vortex flow is locally accelerated by the leading shock and locally decelerated by the lagging shock, having a severely elongated vortex core with two vertices. When the leading shock escapes the vortex, implosion effect creates a high pressure in the vertex area where the flow had been most expanded. This compressed region spreads in time with two frontal waves, an induced expansion wave and an induced compression wave. They are subsonic waves when the shock–vortex interaction is weak but become supersonic waves for strong interactions. Under a intermediate interaction, however, an induced shock wave is first developed where flow speed is supersonic but is dissipated where the incoming flow is subsonic. We have identified three different interaction patterns that depend on the vortex flow regime characterized by the shock–vortex interaction.      

Flow structure formed by interaction of a single microjet with a supersonic jet flow

The flow structure at the initial section of a supersonic underexpanded jet in the presence of a stationary artificial disturbance in the form of a single microjet is studied experimentally. The influence of gas-dynamic and geometric parameters of the microjet on the structure of the main supersonic flow and a significant effect of the microjet on the changes in the Pitot pressure in the shear layer of the supersonic jets are identified. Interaction between the microjet and the main jet flow generates disturbances of two types propagating in the main jet flow: a disturbance induced by the wake flow behind the microjet and a weaker disturbance in the form of a low-intensity shock wave (Mach wave type). __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 104–111, May–June, 2009.     

Active control of supersonic impingement tones using steady and pulsed microjets

In recent years, it has been demonstrated that direct microjet injection into the shear layer of the main jet disrupts the feedback loop inherent in high speed impinging jet flows, thereby significantly reducing the adverse effects. The amount of noise reduced by microjet actuation is known to be dependent on nozzle operating conditions. In this paper, two active control strategies using microjets are suggested to maintain a uniform, reliable, and optimal reduction of these tones over the entire range of operating conditions. In the first method, a quasi-closed loop control strategy is proposed using steady microjet injection and the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) algorithm. The most energetic spatial mode of the unsteady pressure along the nozzle diameter is captured using the POD, which in turn is used to determine the distribution of microjet intensity along the nozzle exit. Preliminary experimental results from a STOVL supersonic jet facility at Mach 1.5 show that the quasi-closed loop control strategy, in some cases, provides an additional 8–10 dB reduction compared to axisymmetric injection at the desired operating conditions. The second method consists of a pulsed microjet injection, motivated by the need to further improve the noise suppression. It was observed that the pulsed microjet was able to bring about the same noise reduction as steady injection using approximately 40% of the corresponding mass flow rate of the steady microjet case. Moreover, as the duty cycle increased, the performance of pulsed injection was further enhanced and was observed to completely eliminate the impinging tones at all operating conditions.     

Special and extreme triple shock-wave configurations

Triple shock-wave configurations in steady supersonic flows of an inviscid perfect gas are considered. Triple configurations with special intensities of shock waves and extreme ratios of various flow parameters behind these configurations are determined. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 39–53, July–August, 2006.     

The blunt-body problem in a nonuniform hypersonic viscous gas flow

The laws of heat transfer associated with the interaction of underexpanded supersonic gas jets and obstacles or blunt bodies have been investigated, for example, in [1–3]. Similar problems of nonuniform flow occur when bodies move in the wake behind other bodies; however, in this case the laws of heat transfer have so far received little attention [4–8]. It has been established that for a certain Reynolds number and flow nonuniformity parameters a zone of reverse-circulatory flow develops near the front of the blunt body. However, the conditions of transition to separated flow have not been determined. This paper presents a self-similar solution of the equations of the viscous shock layer near the stagnation line in supersonic flow past an axisymmetric blunt body located behind another body. On the basis of this solution a separationless flow criterion is proposed. The effect of the nonuniformity and the Reynolds number on the shock standoff distance, the convective heat flux and the friction drag of the blunt body is investigated. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 120–125, November–December, 1986. In conclusion the authors wish to thank I. G. Eremeitsev for useful suggestions and G. A. Tirskii for discussing their work.     

Numerical calculations of supersonic underexpanded jets in a cocurrent flow with the use of parabolized Navier-Stokes equations

Results of a numerical study of three-dimensional supersonic jets propagating in a cocurrent flow are described. Averaged parabolized Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically on the basis of a developed scheme, which allows calculations in supersonic and subsonic flow regions to be performed in a single manner. A jet flow with a cocurrent flow Mach number 0.05 ⩽ M_∞ ⩽ 7.00 is studied, and its effect on the structure of the mixing layer is demonstrated. The calculated results are compared with available experimental and numerical data. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 54–63, May–June, 2008.     

Experimental Investigation of Nozzle Exit Reflector Effect on Supersonic Jet

The present study describes an experimental work to investigate the effect of a nozzle exit reflector on a supersonic jet that is discharged from a convergent–divergent nozzle with a design Mach number of 2.0. An annular reflector is installed at the nozzle exit and its diameter is varied. A high-quality spark schlieren optical system is used to visualize detailed jet structures with and without the reflector. Impact pressure measurement using a pitot probe is also carried out to quantify the reflector’s effect on the supersonic jet which is in the range from an over-expanded to a moderately under-expanded state. The results obtained show that for over-expanded jets, the reflector substantially increases the jet spreading rate and reduces the supersonic length of the jet, compared with moderately under-expanded jets. The reflector’s effect appears more significant in imperfectly expanded jets that have strong shock cell structures, but is negligible in correctly expanded jet.     

Tomographic reconstruction of shock layer flows

The tomographic reconstruction of supersonic flows faces two challenges. Firstly, techniques used in the past, such as the direct Fourier method (DFM) (Gottlieb and Gustafsson in On the direct Fourier method for computer tomography, 1998; Morton in Tomographic imaging of supersonic flows, 1995) or various backprojection (Kak and Slaney in Principles of computerized tomographic imaging, vol. 33 in Classics in Applied Mathematics, 2001) techniques, have only been able to reconstruct areas of the flow which are upstream of any opaque objects, such as a model. Secondly, shock waves create sharp discontinuities in flow properties, which can be difficult to reconstruct both in position and in magnitude with limited data. This paper will present a reconstruction method, matrix inversion using ray-tracing and least squares conjugate gradient (MI-RLS), which uses geometric ray-tracing and a sparse matrix iterative solver (Paige and Saunders in ACM Trans. Math. Softw. 8(1):43–71, 1982) to overcome both of these challenges. It will be shown, through testing with a phantom object described in tomographic literature, that the results compare favourably to those produced by the DFM technique. Finally, the method will be used to reconstruct three-dimensional density fields from interferometric shock layer images, with good resolution (Faletič in Tomographic reconstruction of shock layer flows, 2005). This paper was based on work that was presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Interdisciplinary Shock Wave Research, Canberra, Australia, March 1–3, 2006.     

Oscillatory behavior of supersonic impinging jet flows

Oscillatory flows of a choked underexpanded supersonic impinging jet issuing from a convergent nozzle have been computed using the axisymmetric unsteady Navier--Stokes system. This paper focuses on the oscillatory flow features associated with the variation of the nozzle-to-plate distance and nozzle pressure ratio. Frequencies of the surface pressure oscillation and flow structural changes from computational results have been analyzed. Staging behavior of the oscillation frequency has been observed for both cases of nozzle-to-plate distance variation and pressure ratio variation. However, the staging behavior for each case exhibits different features. These two distinct staging behaviors of the oscillation frequency are found to correlate well if the frequency and the distance are normalized by the length of the shock cell. It is further found that the staging behavior is strongly correlated with the change of the pressure wave pattern in the jet shear layer, but not with the shock cell structure. Communicated by K. Takayama PACS 02.60.Cb; 47.40.−x; 47.40.Nm; 47.35.+I; 47.15.−x     

Flows of Supersonic Underexpanded Jets on the Range of Moderate Reynolds Numbers

The results of an experimental investigation of the gasdynamic structure of supersonic underexpanded air jets flowing out of a sonic nozzle into a low-pressure medium are presented. This setting of the experimentmakes it possible to achieve high values of the nozzle-to-ambient pressure ratio at moderate outflow Reynolds numbers characteristic of underexpanded jets issuing from micronozzles. The data on the supersonic core length, the laminar-turbulent transition location, and the jet flow characteristics are obtained. The results are compared with those obtained in microjets flowing out of sonic nozzles. Emphasis is placed on the earlier discovered effect of inverse transition of a turbulent jet into the laminar flow regime with increase in the Reynolds number.     

An experimental investigation on flow structures of confined and unconfined impinging air jets

The flow characteristics of both confined and unconfined air jets, impinging normally onto a flat plate have been experimentally investigated. The mean and turbulence velocities, and surface pressures were measured for Reynolds numbers ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 and the nozzle-to-plate spacings in range of 0.2–6. Smoke-wire technique is used to visualize the flow behavior. The effects of Reynolds number, nozzle-to-plate spacing and flow confinement on the flow structure are reported. In the case of confined jet, subatmospheric regions occur on both impingement and confinement surfaces at nozzle-to-plate spacings up to 2 for all Reynolds numbers in consideration and they lie up to nearly the same radial location at both surfaces. However, there is no evidence of the subatmospheric region in unconfined jet. It is concluded that there exists a linkage among the subatmospheric region, turbulence intensity and the peaks in heat transfer coefficients for low spacings in impinging jets.     

Calculation of spatial flow past an inclined flat plate with a detached shock wave

The results of a numerical analysis of a supersonic underexpanded jet impinging on an inclined flat plate are presented. The effects of the angle between the plate and the jet symmetry axis, the distance from the nozzle exit section, the exit Mach number, and the off-design conditions on the distribution of the gasdynamic parameters in the jet flowfield and on the plate surface are demonstrated. Specific features of the compressed layer and obstacle surface flows are revealed. The three-dimensional flow is simulated using the large particle method on the basis of the nonstationary Euler equations written in the cylindrical coordinate system. The calculated results are compared with experimental data. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 31–35, January–February, 1997.