Measurement and imaging of supersonic combustion in a model scramjet engine

Results of tests performed in a free-piston shock tunnel on a model scramjet engine are presented. Two conditions which differed in Mach number were tested. Flow at the lower Mach number condition was achieved using a variable-angle diffuser. Shadowgraph images and floor static pressure measurements were obtained, the latter used as the basis of a finite-difference calculation of flow properties in the scramjet. Received 9 May 1998 / Accepted 30 September 1998     

Visualization of turbulent combustion of TNT detonation products in a steel vessel

Mixing and afterburning of TNT detonation products in a steel vessel are recorded by the use of the Schlieren visualization system and high speed photography. The vessel is filled with air or 50% oxygen enriched air. Overpressure histories at the vessel wall are also recorded by using pressure transducers. In these experiments nitrogen, air or 50% oxygen enriched air are used as vessel fillers. The Oppenheim-Kuhl theory of thermodynamics of closed systems is applied to estimate the released energy on the basis of pressure histories. Received 29 August 1999 / Accepted 21 January 2000     

Advances in detonation driving techniques for a shock tube/tunnel

Early works on the detonation driven shock tube are reviewed briefly. High initial pressure detonable mixture can be used in backward-detonation driver when the buffer tube is attached to the end of the driver for eliminating the excessive reflected peak pressure. Experimental data showed that an improvement on attenuation of the incident shock wave generated by the forward driver can be obtained, provided the diameter of the driver is larger than that of the driven section and an abrupt reduction of cross-section area is placed just beyond the diaphragm. Also, it is clearly verified by a numerical analysis. An additional backward-detonation driver is proposed to attach to the primary detonation driver and on condition that the ratios of initial pressure in the additional driver to that in the primary driver exceed the threshold value, the Taylor wave behind detonation wave in the primary detonation driver can be eliminated completely.     

On the influence of elevated surface temperatures on hypersonic shock wave/boundary layer interaction at a heated ramp model

Although important flow parameters as Mach number, Reynolds number and total enthalpy can be reproduced in most hypersonic experiments quite well, due to different surface temperature effects in wind tunnel and flight, scaling as well as specific flow properties of shock wave/boundary layer interactions are different. This especially holds for short-duration facilities like, e.g. shock tunnels where due to short running times the models remain more or less at ambient temperature. To overcome this shortcoming, an experimental study has been conducted using a preheatable ramp model with 15° ramp angle. This allowed us to adjust the surfaces to an arbitrary temperature just before the experiment started. Pressure and heat flux measurements clearly showed the effect of varying surface and free stream temperatures. These results are supported by schlieren pictures and infrared measurements. The comparison of the measurements with theoretical and numerical results shows a good agreement. Separation bubble scaling laws proposed by Katzer and Davis have been applied and partially confirmed using the local conditions of the boundary layer at separation.     

Pressure measurements on cone surface in 3-D shock reflection processes

In a shock tube the pressure distribution was measured on a cone with an angle of attack when a shock wave passed the cone. The cone has a semi-apex angle of 35°, the angle of attack varied from 0° to 25° and the shock Mach numbers from 1.05 to 3.0. A series of pressure distributions on the cone circumference are given. Received 17 November 1997 / Accepted 5 December 1997     

Aerodynamic calibration of TCM2 facility and study of a bow shock layer by emission and laser spectroscopy

Flow properties in the TCM2 free piston shock tube/tunnel are determined by time-resolved pressure and heat flux measurements in numerous points of the shock tube and the nozzle, and in the free flow for two stagnation enthalpy conditions (3.5 and 11 MJ/kg). These measurements demonstrate the homogeneity of the flow during more than 1 ms. The cleanness of the useful test time is shown with time-resolved emission measurements at critical wavelengths. NO fluorescence profiles are established with local and planar laser-induced fluorescence in the shock layer around a cylindrical model. It allows to determine the shock stand-off distance for both enthalpy conditions. The problems of quenching and amplified spontaneous emission are considered. The importance of atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen densities as well as temperature effects is also shown. Evaluation of the temperatures behind the shock front through spectroscopic data agrees with calculations. The proof of the presence of vibrationally excited NO ahead of the shock layer is given. Received 14 March 2000 / Accepted 18 June 2001     

Simulation of the starting flow in a wedge–like nozzle

The starting process of the flow in a wedge-like expansion nozzle of a shock tunnel is simulated by an unsplit 2-D GRP scheme on an unstructured grid. The scheme is briefly outlined and results are presented and discussed in comparison to the experimental (shadowgraph) findings obtained by Amann. The simulated pattern of reflected and transmitted shock waves in the nozzle inlet region and inside the nozzle is found to agree well with the experimental data. Received 5 April 1996 / Accepted 16 June 1997     

Shock wave propagation in a branched duct

The propagation of a planar shock wave in a 90° branched duct is studied experimentally and numerically. It is shown that the interaction of the transmitted shock wave with the branching segment results in a complex, two-dimensional unsteady flow. Multiple shock wave reflections from the duct's walls cause weakening of transmitted waves and, at late times, an approach to an equilibrium, one-dimensional flow. While at most places along the branched duct walls calculated pressures are lower than that existing behind the original incident shock wave, at the branching segment's right corner, where a head on-collision between the transmitted wave and the corner is experienced, pressures that are significantly higher than those existing behind the original incident shock wave are encountered. The numerically evaluated pressures can be accepted with confidence, due to the very good agreement found between experimental and numerical results with respect to the geometry of the complex wave pattern observed inside the branched duct. Received 15 July 1996 / Accepted 20 February 1997     

Transverse and parallel injection of hydrogen with supersonic combustion in a shock tunnel

An experimental comparison has been made of the combustion induced pressure rise in a constant area duct when hydrogen is injected transverse to the flow by using a surface orifice, and when it is injected parallel to the flow by using a central injection strut. The experiments were conducted in a shock tunnel at a flow Mach number of 4.2 and stagnation enthalpies of 5.6, 6.5 and 8.9 MJ kg. Both room temperature and heated hydrogen were injected, and a method of heating the hydrogen by compression in a gun tunnel which was slaved to the shock tunnel is described. It was found that, for both unheated and heated hydrogen, the combustion pressure rise was not measurably dependent on the method of introducing the hydrogen, not withstanding the complicated shock related flow pattern arising from transverse injection. Received August 14, 1995 / Accepted February 14, 1996     

PLIF thermometry in shock tunnel flows using a Raman-shifted tunable excimer laser

Planar laser-induced fluorescence is performed in a free-piston shock tunnel by using a Raman-shifted tunable excimer laser to excite nitric oxide molecules in the flow. Two different flowfields are examined to test the difficulties associated with applying the technique to shock tunnels: the bluff body flow produced by a 25 mm diameter cylinder; and the oblique shock and expansion fan produced by a 35° half-angle wedge. For the cylinder, the maximum flow enthalpy was limited to 4.1 MJ kg due to high flow luminosity which is produced by metallic contaminants in the flow. A reflective filter is used to reduce the influence of flow luminosity making these measurements feasible. Freestream temperature measurements are in excellent agreement with those predicted from numerical flow calculations. Large uncertainties were observed for the high-temperature post-shock results. Several higher enthalpy shots (14 MJ kg) were also performed with the wedge and showed an insignificant amount of contaminant emission. Received 5 June 1996 / Accepted 8 February 1998     

Non-equilibrium model of steady detonations in aluminum particles - oxygen suspensions

Steady-state detonation regimes are studied on the basis of the mathematical model of detonation of aluminum particles in oxygen taking into account differences in velocities and temperatures of the mixture components. The final steady state is analyzed by determining the types of final singularities in the plane of relaxation parameters (the ratios of characteristic times of thermal and velocity relaxations and combustion). The regions of existence of steady-state regimes are found numerically, depending on the detonation wave velocity and relaxation parameters. Numerical illustrations of various flow types are presented, and the properties of the detonation wave structure caused by velocity nonequilibrium are examined. Qualitative agreement of data obtained with frozen relaxation parameters and their dependence on the flow parameters is shown. Received 5 July 1997 / Accepted 13 July 1998     

Simulation of Oxford University Gun Tunnel performance using a quasi-one-dimensional model

The performance of the Oxford University Gun Tunnel has been estimated using a quasi-one-dimensional simulation of the facility gas dynamics. The modelling of the actual facility area variations so as to adequately simulate both shock reflection and flow discharge processes has been considered in some detail. Test gas stagnation pressure and temperature histories are compared with measurements at two different operating conditions – one with nitrogen and the other with carbon dioxide as the test gas. It is demonstrated that both the simulated pressures and temperatures are typically within 3% of the experimental measurements. Received 18 June 2001 / Accepted 15 January 2002     

Global modelling of heat release during initiation and propagation of detonation and deflagration waves in methane-air-particle systems

In the present paper the direct initiation of a self supporting detonation and propagation of a low-speed combustion in methane-air-coal particles mixtures are solved. For particles, a heterogeneous regime of combustion is used, for methane one overall chemical reaction is taken into account: CH + 2O = CO + 2HO. The heat release rate is assumed to be defined as a delay time based on the well-known thermal theory of Frank-Kamenetsky (1967). The proposed model allows one to investigate the influence inert particles or coal dust on the explosion limits of methane-air mixtures. It is shown that the addition of a limited quantity of particles leads to detonation stability. In low speed combustion problems this method allows one to get a good correlation between theoretical and experimental velocities of steady flame propagation in carbon-hydrogen gaseous mixtures. Coal dust influence on gasdynamics of a methane-air mixture combustion is investigated in an unsteady problem by using of the global modelling. It is shown that limited coal dust concentration increases the flame wave intensity in lean methane-air mixtures in contrast to inert particles. In stoichiometric gas mixtures, sand and coal dusts decrease a flame velocity. Far from the ignition point flame, the velocity is largely defined by the dust mass concentration and not by the size of particles. Received 5 July 1997 / Accepted 13 July 1998     

Absolute intensity measurements of impurity emissions in a shock tunnel and their consequences for laser-induced fluorescence experiments

Absolute intensity measurements of impurity emissions in a shock tunnel nozzle flow are presented. The impurity emission intensities were measured with a photomultiplier and optical multichannel analyser and calibrated against an intensity standard. The various metallic contaminants were identified and their intensities measured in the spectral regions 290 to 330 nm and 375 to 385 nm. A comparison with calculated fluorescence intensities for predissociated laser-induced fluorescence signals is made. It is found that the emission background is negligible for most fluorescence experiments.This article was processed using Springer-Verlag T_EX Shock Waves macro package 1.0 and the AMS fonts, developed by the American Mathematical Society.     

Formation of multiple shocklets in a transonic diffuser flow

Multiple shocklets are frequently generated in transonic diffuser flows. The present paper investigates the formation of these shocklets with a high-speed CCD camera combined with the schlieren method. It is observed that compression waves steepen while propagating upstream, and eventually become new shock waves. The ordinary shock wave is found to move upstream beyond the nozzle throat or to disappear while moving downstream depending on the pressure ratio across the nozzle. This phenomenon is also analyzed with the one-dimensional Euler equations by assuming a pressure disturbance given by the sine function at the channel exit. The calculated results are found to reproduce quite well the experimental behavior of the shocklets. The effect of the frequency of disturbance is also studied numerically, and it is shown that the multiple shocklet pattern appears when the amplitude of disturbance is not large and the diverging part of the channel downstream of the ordinary shock wave is long. Received 26 June 1998 / Accepted 15 March 1999     

Focusing of a shock wave in a rarefied gas A numerical study

The process of focusing of a shock wave in a rarefied noble gas is investigated by a numerical solution of the corresponding two dimensional initial–boundary value problem for the Boltzmann equation. The numerical method is based on the splitting algorithm in which the collision integral is computed by a Monte Carlo quadrature, and the free flow equation is solved by a finite volume method. We analyse the development of the shock wave which reflects from a suitably shaped reflector, and we study influence of various factors, involved in the mathematical model of the problem, on the process of focusing. In particular, we investigate the pressure amplification factor and its dependence on the strength of the shock and on the accommodation coefficient appearing in the Maxwell boundary condition modelling the gas-surface interaction. Moreover, we study the dependence of the shock focusing phenomenon on the shape of the reflector, and on the Mach number of the incoming shock. Received 25 May 1998 / Accepted 4 January 2000     

Nano-particle sizing by laser-induced-incandescence (LII) in a shock wave reactor

Abstract. Laser-Induced Incandescence (LII) is a relatively new optical diagnostic for particle sizing which is currently used in combustion science. Its advantage against light extinction and light scattering methods is the possibility of getting size information with high time and space resolution even for nano-particles. LII is mostly applied to particle formation or particle removal in reactive stationary flows, but it can also be used in shock-induced reactive flows. This is demonstrated in three examples: soot particle formation during high temperature pyrolysis of benzene, iron particle formation from iron pentacarbonyl, and formation of carbon-coated iron particles. From the principles of LII, it is not possible to obtain a complete particle growth curve from one individual shock tube experiment. Therefore, the kinetics of particle growth evolution must be determined from several “identical” shock tube experiments with a delayed triggering of the heat-up laser. The principles of LII, the in-situ measurement of particle size, and the comparison to beam-collected particles, which were visualized by a high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), are demonstrated. It was found that the energy accommodation coefficient during the particle cooling is for a soot surface but is significantly lower e.g. for an iron surface. Received 30 April 2002 / Accepted 9 December 2002 Published online 4 February 2003 Correspondence to: R. Starke (e-mail: starke@ivg.uni-duisburg.de)     

Analytical formulation of 2-D aeroelastic model in weak ground effect

This paper deals with the aeroelastic modeling and analysis of a 2-D oscillating airfoil in ground effect, elastically constrained by linear and torsional springs and immersed in an incompressible potential flow (typical section) at a finite distance from the ground. This work aims to extend Theodorsen theory, valid in an unbounded flow domain, to the case of weak ground effect, i.e., for clearances above half the airfoil chord. The key point is the determination of the aerodynamic loads, first in the frequency domain and then in the time domain, accounting for their dependence on the ground distance. The method of images is exploited in order to comply with the impermeability condition on the ground. The new integral equation in the unknown vortex distribution along the chord and the wake is solved using asymptotic expansions in the perturbation parameter defined as the inverse of the non-dimensional ground clearance of the airfoil. The mathematical model describing the aeroelastic system is transformed from the frequency domain into the time domain and then in a pure differential form using a finite-state aerodynamic approximation (augmented states). The typical section, which the developed theory is applied to, is obtained as a reduced model of a wing box finite element representation, thus allowing comparison with the corresponding aeroelastic analysis carried out by a commercial solver based on a 3-D lifting surface aerodynamic model. Stability (flutter margins) and response of the airfoil both in frequency and time domains are then investigated. In particular, within the developed theory, the solution of the Wagner problem can be directly achieved confirming an asymptotic trend of the aerodynamic coefficients toward the steady-state conditions different from that relative to the unbounded domain case. The dependence of flutter speed and the frequency response functions on ground clearance is highlighted, showing the usefulness of this approach in efficiently and robustly accounting for the presence of the ground when unsteady analysis of elastic lifting surfaces in weak ground effect is required.     

Aerodynamic force measurement using 3-component accelerometer force balance system in a hypersonic shock tunnel

A new three-component accelerometer force balance has been designed, calibrated and tested in hypersonic shock tunnel (HST2) of Indian Institute of Science. The newly designed balance is able to measure aerodynamic forces (within test time of one millisecond) on test models at angles of attack from 0 to 12°. Two models, a blunt cone with after body and a blunt cone with after body and frustum are used to establish the accuracy of the force balance. The tests were conducted for the above two configurations with a constant Mach number of 8 and total enthalpy of 2.0 MJ/kg. The effectiveness of the balance is demonstrated by comparing the forces and moments of measured data with AGARD models. The flow fields around the test model are simulated using a 3D axisymmetric Navier–Stokes solver and the simulated results were compared with the measured values. Measured and computed force data are matched within ±10% for two different models tested here. The accuracy of the force balance is also estimated with the Newtonian theory and the values are approximately ±10% for the axial component and ±8% for the normal and pitching moment components.      

Turbulent flows in channels with injection. results of large eddy simulation and the two-equation turbulence model

Turbulent flows in channels with intense distributed injection are modeled using the large eddy method and the two-equation k-? turbulence model. The calculations are carried out for different velocities of injection from the channel walls. For a channel with one-sided injection the results of large eddy simulation are in good agreement with the measured data, whereas the calculations in accordance with the k-? model give a less convex cross-sectional velocity profile and an appreciable error in determining the surface friction coefficient on the impermeable wall and also have certain other shortcomings. In the case of two-sided injection, the results of the calculations by the large eddy method and the k-? model are in good agreement with one another and the data of physical experiments.