Shock wave configurations and flow structures in non-axisymmetric underexpanded sonic jets

An experimental and numerical study of underexpanded free sonic jet flows issuing from rectangular, elliptical and slot nozzles has been undertaken. Aspect ratios (AR) of 1, 2, and 4 are described at pressure ratios (exit plane pressure to ambient pressure), of 2 and 3. There is good qualitative agreement between the experimental observations and the numerical predictions. In the case of rectangular jets, a complex system of shock waves forming the incident shock system is identified. This shock wave system originates at the corners of the nozzle exits, and proceeds downstream. Mach reflections are found to occur on the incident shock wave surface as well as the presence of a Mach disk terminating the first jet cell. This Mach disk has the shape of a square, a hexagon, or an octagon depending on the nozzle shape. For slot and elliptical jets, the formation of the incident shock wave was not observed along the minor axis plane of the nozzle for AR > 2. The incident shock wave was observed to originate downstream of the nozzle exit in the major axis plane. This wave system undergoes a transition to Mach reflection as it propagates downstream of the nozzle exit. In all cases tested, the shape of the jet boundary is significantly distorted. In rectangular jets, the narrowing of the jet boundary along the diagonal axis of the nozzle exit is observed, and in the case of the elliptical and slot jets axis switching is noted.     

Pitot pressures of correctly-expanded and underexpanded free jets from axisymmetric supersonic nozzles

The structures of the axisymmetric free jets from supersonic nozzles with the exit Mach numbers of 1.5 and 2.0 are studied with special attention to the decay of the Pitot pressures downstream of the Mach disk. The Pitot pressure probe and schlieren method are used in the experiments to diagnose the flowfield. A TVD numerical method is also applied to the Euler equations, and the computed jet structures are compared with experiments. In the underexpanded jet, the experimentally obtained Pitot pressure near the jet centerline is found to substantially recover downstream of the Mach disk. By comparing the numerical computation, this phenomenon is thought to be caused by the turbulent momentum transfer to the central region from the region outside the slip line where the stagnation pressure loss is small.     

Flow and acoustic features of a supersonic tapered nozzle

The acoustic and flow characteristics of a supersonic tapered jet were measured for free and shrouded flow configurations. Measurements were performed for a full range of pressure ratios including over- and underexpanded and design conditions. The supersonic tapered jet is issued from a converging-diverging nozzle with a 31 rectangular slotted throat and a conical diverging section leading to a circular exit. The jet was compared to circular and rectangular supersonic jets operating at identical conditions. The distinct feature of the jet is the absence of screech tones in the entire range of operation. Its near-field pressure fluctuations have a wide band spectrum in the entire range of measurements, for Mach numbers of 1 to 2.5, for over- and underexpanded conditions. The free jet's spreading rate is nearly constant and similar to the rectangular jet, and in a shroud, the pressure drop it is inducing is linearly proportional to the primary jet Mach number. This behavior persisted in high adverse pressure gradients at overexpanded conditions, and with nozzle divergence angles of up to 35°, no inside flow separation was observed.     

Influence of nozzle geometry on underexpanded axisymmetric free jet characteristics

The effect of nozzle geometry on the structure of a supersonic free jet is investigated both experimentally and numerically for three simple nozzle geometries. In the experiments, the relation between the Mach disk height and diameter and the nozzle pressure ratio are investigated using the schlieren method. In contrast to results obtained in previous studies, our experimental results show that the Mach disk height changes depending on the nozzle geometry. Numerical investigations were conducted by introducing flows upstream of the nozzle and the influence of these upstream flows on free jet configuration has been discussed.     

水下欠膨胀高速气体射流的实验研究

采用实验途径研究了下水高速气体射流的动力学特性,研制了水下高速气体射流实验系统并发展了相应的测试手段。实验中,用插入式静压探针测量了射流轴线静压分布;用γ射线衰减法测量了径向空隙率分布,从而揭示了水下高速气体射流均压和掺混两个过程的基本规律。测量结果表明：水下高速气体射流在欠膨胀工况下运行时,近场将出现含有复杂波系结构的膨胀压缩区域,由于气水的掺混作用,水下欠膨胀气体射流均压化过程比空气中衰减得快。测量结果还表明,水下射流在近场区的混合层由气水两相占据,其流态从靠近气体侧的液滴流型过渡到靠近液体侧的气泡流型。     

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.     

Flow and Heat Transfer in Underexpanded Air Jets Issuing from the Sonic Nozzle of a Plasma Generator

We present the results of an experimental investigation and numerical simulation of the gasdynamic structure of underexpanded dissociated-air jets and the heat transfer in these strongly nonequilibrium flows under the test conditions realized in the 100-kW electrodeless VGU-4 plasma generator of the Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPM RAS). The flow and heat transfer analysis is carried out on the basis of measurements of the static pressure in the plenum chamber, at the sonic nozzle exit, and on the low-pressure chamber wall, the stagnation pressure on the jet axis using a Pitot tube, and the heat transfer at the stagnation points of water-cooled models placed along the jet axis. The numerical simulation, based on complete Navier-Stokes equations, includes the calculation of (1) equilibrium air plasma flows in the discharge channel of the VGU-4 plasma generator; (2) underexpanded nonequilibrium dissociated-air jet outflow into the ambient space; and (3) axisymmetric jet flow past cylindrical models.     

Study on the dynamical characteristics of a supersonic high pressure ratio underexpanded impinging ideal gas jet through numerical simulations

The impingement of an axisymmetric underexpanded ideal gas jet on a flat surface is investigated through numerical simulations. Different injection conditions, characterized by the nozzle pressure ratio (NPR), have been considered and for each, several standoff distances were studied. The study was conducted using the commercial finite volume general purpose code Fluent^®. The numerical results are presented in terms of Mach number and static pressure to characterize the structure of the flow. Furthermore, the influence of the standoff distance upon the position and diameter of Mach disk is analysed. Some results are compared with literature data and good agreement is obtained.     

Near field shock structure of dual co-axial jets

Experimental results on the shock structure of dual co-axial jets are presented. The effects of the geometric parameters of the inner nozzle, jet static pressure ratio (ratio of the exit plane static pressures of the inner and outer nozzles) and the ratio of outer to inner nozzle throat area on the shock structure were studied. A superimposed outer and inner jet structure was observed in the schlieren photographs. The inner flow is compressed by the outer flow resulting in the formation of a Mach disc and an exit shock. A parameter incorporating the effect of Mach number of the inner nozzle and jet static pressure ratio was found to correlate the observations regarding the Mach disc location.     

Investigation of the propagation of a two-dimensional wall jet over a step

The propagation of an underexpanded sonic jet over a flat end face has been experimentally investigated. As distinct from previous studies, the object of investigation is not a free jet, but a jet flowing from a nozzle along a horizontal surface. The total separation of the jet from the surface and its attachment to the end wall are related to the propagation characteristics of underexpanded wall jets. The effect of the total pressure in the jet and the height of the step on the separation of the jet and its attachment to the wall and, moreover, on the principal characteristics of the flow — the pressure in the base region, the extent of the circulation zone, the jet trajectory — is examined. The associated hysteresis effects are studied.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 61–66, July–August, 1991.     

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.     

Density and compressibility effects in turbulent subsonic jets part 1: mean velocity field

The behavior of compressible jets originated from initially turbulent pipe flows issuing in still air has been investigated at three different subsonic Mach numbers, 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9. Helium, nitrogen and krypton gases were used to generate the jet flows and investigate the additional effects of density on the flow structure. Particle image velocimetry, high-frequency response pressure transducers and thermocouples were used to obtain velocity, Mach number and total temperature measurements inside the flow field. The jets were formed at the exit of an adiabatic compressible frictional turbulent pipe flow, which was developing toward its corresponding sonic conditions inside the pipe, and continued to expand within the first four diameters distance after it exited the pipe. Theoretical considerations based on flow self-similarity were used to obtain the decay of Mach number along the centerline of the jets for the first time. It was found that this decay depends on two contributions, one from the velocity field which is inversely proportional to the distance from the exit and one from the thermal field which is proportional to this distance. As a result, a small non-linearity in the variation of the inverse Mach number with downstream distance was found. The decay of the Mach number at the centerline of the axisymmetric jets increases by increasing the initial Mach number at the exit of the flow for all jets. The decay of mean velocity at the centerline of the jets is also higher at higher exit Mach numbers. However, the velocity non-dimensionalized by the exit velocity seems to decrease faster at low exit Mach numbers, suggesting a reduced mixing with increasing exit flow Mach numbers. Helium jets were found to have the largest spreading rate among the three different gas jets used in the present investigation, while krypton jets had the lowest spreading rate. The spreading rate of each gas decreases with increasing its kinetic energy relatively to its internal energy.     

Wall jet similarity of impinging planar underexpanded jets

Velocity profiles and wall shear stress values in the wall jet region of planar underexpanded impinging jets are parameterized based on nozzle parameters (stand-off height, jet hydraulic diameter, and nozzle pressure ratio). Computational fluid dynamics is used to calculate the velocity fields of impinging jets with height-to-diameter ratios in the range of 15–30 and nozzle pressure ratio in the range of 1.2–3.0. The wall jet has an incomplete self-similar profile with a typical triple-layer structure as in traditional wall jets. The effects of compressibility are found to be insignificant for wall jets with Ma < 0.8. Wall jet analysis yielded power-law relationships with source dependent coefficients describing maximum velocity, friction velocity, and wall distances for maximum and half-maximum velocities. Source dependency is determined using the conjugate gradient method. These power-law relationships can be used for mapping wall shear stress as a function of nozzle parameters.     

Experimental Studies on Co-flowing Subsonic and Sonic Jets

Effect of an annular co-flow jet on the center jet at subsonic, correctly expanded and underexpanded sonic conditions was studied experimentally. It is found that the co-flow retards the mixing of the primary jet, leading to potential core elongation. The characteristic decay of the jet is also retarded in the presence of co-flow. With co-flow core length elongation of 40% and 80% were achieved for correctly expanded and underexpanded (NPR 7) sonic jets, respectively. Shadowgraph pictures show that the co-flow is effective in preserving the shock-cell structures of the inner jet, making the jet to propagate to a greater axial distance which otherwise would have decayed faster.     

一种三阶有限体积法及其在欠膨胀射流激波结构数值模拟中的应用

以喷管出口欠膨胀射流为研究对象,在Lagrange坐标系下建立欠膨胀射流二维积分形式的流动方程。通过在单元交接面处进行三阶ENO(essentially nonoscillatory)格式插值,构造得到一种适用于求解该方程的三阶ENO有限体积法。采用该格式对一维Sod激波管算例和喷管出口欠膨胀射流进行数值计算。计算结果表明,该方法具有高精度、基本无振荡的特点,能很好地捕捉包含激波、滑移线以及三波交点等复杂流场波系结构。计算得到的波系结构中马赫盘的位置与实验结果吻合很好,相对误差小于1.1%。     

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.     

FORCE FIELDS ON INVISCID,SLENDER, ANNULAR LIQUID JETS

Regular perturbation expansions are used to analyse the fluid dynamics of unsteady, inviscid, slender, thin, incompressible (constant density), axisymmetric, upward and downward, annular liquid jets subjected to non-homogeneous, conservative body forces when both the annular jets are very thin and the gases enclosed by and surrounding the jet are dynamically passive. Both inertia- and capillarity-dominated annular jets are considered. It is shown that, for inertia-dominated jets, closure of the leading-order equations is achieved at second order in the perturbation parameter, which is the slenderness ratio, whereas closure is achieved at first order for capillarity-dominated jets. The steady leading-order equations are solved numerically by means of both an adaptive finite difference method which maps the curvilinear geometry of the jet onto a unit square and a fourth-order-accurate Runge–Kutta technique. It is shown that the fluid dynamics of steady, annular liquid jets is very sensitive to the Froude and Weber numbers and nozzle exit angle in the presence of non-homogeneous, conservative body forces. For upward jets with inwardly or axially directed velocities at the nozzle exit the effect of the non-homogeneous, conservative body forces is to increase the leading-order axial velocity component, decrease the jet's mean radius and move the stagnation point downstream. For downward jets with radially outward velocity at the nozzle exit the axial velocity component decreases monotonically as the magnitude of the non-homogeneous, conservative body forces is increased.     

A numerical study of turbulent opposed impinging jets issuing from triangular nozzles with different geometries

In present research, two turbulent opposed impinging air jets issuing from triangular nozzles with fixed and variable exit velocity ratios and different nozzle-to-nozzle distances have been studied numerically and then compared with rectangular and circular nozzles. The finite volume method has been applied for solving mass and momentum equations. The turbulence model being used here is k-ε RNG. Distributions of pressure, turbulence, kinetic energy and its dissipation rate in various regions especially on the impingement regions have been obtained with high accuracy. Study of the nozzle geometries has shown the advantage of triangular nozzles over other geometries. First, the triangle’s base in nozzle geometry has an important role in our study case which, mixing two flows and regions with high turbulence intensity, directly depends on it. Second, our results show that circular and rectangular nozzles have less efficiency than triangular nozzles in mixing applications. Third and last, it was found that the radial jet being created by opposed jets has some similarities to free jets. In this investigation, air in standard atmospheric pressure has been applied as working fluid.     

An experimental investigation of jet screech by air jet impingement on solid boundaries

An experimental investigation has been completed to study several methods of avoiding the jet screech phenomenon due to air jet impingement on solid boundaries. Measurements were completed in the Mach number region of M=0.5 using a 25 mm diameter nozzle with the air jet impinging on flat, concave and convex boundaries. Sound pressure levels were recorded in the plane of the nozzle outlet at a distance of 1.46 m from the jet axis. Hot wire studies and the stagnation pressure at the impingement zone of the jet were also recorded.With the air jet impinging on the flat board normal to its surface a maximum sound pressure occurred at a spacing of approximately two nozzle diameters producing a distinct screech at a sound level of 20 dB above that of the free jet. Three methods of preventing this screech were studied. First, by inserting disturbances into the shear layer at the nozzle exit; second, by changing the geometry of the boundary shape to improve the jet stability in the impingement region; and third, by introducing disturbances at the stagnation region which had the effect of displacing the distinct screech to another frequency range.