An improved method to determine free stream conditions in hypersonic facilities

For determing pressure coefficients and Stanton numbers from the measured surface pressures and heat fluxes at a model surface, the dynamic pressure, mass flux and the total enthalpy of the free stream have to be known. Usually these values are determined by computing the wind tunnel nozzle flow. But a lot of uncertainties enter the computation which may lead to unreliable results. Therefore, a simple method was developed which yields the desired free stream conditions with high accuracy. This could be achieved by using mainly values which are measured within the test section. The method requires the measurement of the Pilot pressure, the stagnation point heat flux on a sphere and the static pressure of the free stream. For the static pressure an estimated value can also be used, because it has no large influence on the result. Some simple considerations show that the derived method is also valid for nonequilibrium free stream conditions. With the procedure presented the accuracy of the pressure coefficients and Stanton numbers could be increased significantly. Further, it improved the repeatability of these test results. This is very important for fundamental research, for the design of hypersonic vehicles as well as for CFD-validation with experimental data. The application of the method presented is not limited to short duration facilities, it can also be used for continuously working wind tunnels.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.     

Experimental simulation of heat transfer in an HF-plasmatron with lengthened segmented discharge channel

Subsonic and supersonic air induction plasma flows in a VGU-4 100 kW plasmatron with segmented water-cooled cylindrical nozzle with the outlet cross-section 40 mm in diameter are investigated experimentally. The enthalpy on the axis of flow is measured in subsonic air jets. The heat fluxes are measured at the stagnation flow point on a cylindrical water-cooled model 50 mm in diameter located in subsonic air and nitrogen jets. The effect of the generator power, nozzle length, and pressure in the plasmatron pressure chamber on the distributions of the heat flux and the pressure at the stagnation point on the surface of cylindrical models 20 mm in diameter with a plane and hemispheric nose is investigated along the axis of underexpanded dissociated air jets.     

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.     

Mass spectrometric measurements of driver gas arrival in the T4 free-piston shock-tunnel

Available test time is an important issue for ground-based flow research, particularly for impulse facilities such as shock tunnels, where test times of the order of several ms are typical. The early contamination of the test flow by the driver gas in such tunnels restricts the test time. This paper reports measurements of the driver gas arrival time in the test section of the T4 free-piston shock-tunnel over the total enthalpy range 3–17 MJ/kg, using a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The results confirm measurements made by previous investigators using a choked duct driver gas detector at these conditions, and extend the range of previous mass spectrometer measurements to that of 3–20 MJ/kg. Comparisons of the contamination behaviour of various piston-driven reflected shock tunnels are also made. PACS 07.75.th; 47.40.-x     

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     

自由活塞激波风洞

自由活塞激波风洞是一种使用自由活塞压缩器驱动的高焓脉冲型激波风洞。这种风洞是由R J Stalker提出并在澳大利亚国立大学首先建成和逐渐发展起来的高焓实验设备。经过30多年的改进与发展,日趋完善,现已成为研究高超声速气动加热、计及真实气体效应的气体动力学现象、特别是超声速或高超声速燃氢冲压发动机(scamjet)的重要设备之一,受到国际上航空航天界的重视。本文概述了自由活塞激波风洞的发展过程,系统地阐述了这种设备的结构特点和运行原理,给出了性能参数的计算方法和算例,及其性能指标,并讨论了这类风洞的优缺点。      

Local modeling of the aerodynamic heating of the blunt body surface in subsonic high-enthalpy air flow. Theory and experiment on a high-frequency plasmatron

The concept of the local similarity of nonequilibrium boundary layers in high-enthalpy gas flows past blunt bodies is briefly described. The technical possibilities of the VGU-4 induction high-frequency plasmatron in modeling the aerodynamic heating of the hypothetical Pre-X (CNES) spacecraft in the vicinity of the stagnation point of a high-enthalpy air flow are presented. The engineering approach to quantitatively reproduce the thermochemical effect of a dissociated air flow on the vehicle surface in the high-heat region of the terrestrial entry trajectory is developed. In this approach the full-scale values of the total enthalpy, the stagnation pressure, and the velocity gradient at the stagnation point near the surface are reproduced in the experiment. The effective coefficients of O and N atom recombination on a silicone carbide (SiC) surface are determined under the conditions similar with those of the peak heating of the Pre-X vehicle surface in the vicinity of the flow stagnation point.     

Lower limit for the velocity fluctuation level in wind tunnels

The origins of the velocity fluctuations in the test section of a wind tunnel are discussed. Vorticity (turbulence converted from upstream) can be reduced by a careful design of the settling chamber to almost any desired level. The amplitudes of pressure waves propagating round the tunnel circuit can also be reduced considerably. The lowest levels of the velocity fluctuations in wind tunnels are determined by those pressure fields that are created on the outer boundaries of the test section. These boundaries are the free shear layers in the case of free jet facilities and the turbulent boundary layers in the case of closed wall test sections. The lower limit for the rms velocity level is achieved in many open jet wind tunnels (typically 0.15%). The corresponding limit for low speed tunnels with closed test sections is smaller by a factor of at least twenty but not yet known.     

Influence of combustion-preheating vitiation on operability of a hypersonic inlet

Vitiation of the test flow with combustion products is inherent in combustion wind tunnels, and its effect on experimental results needs to be clarified. In this study, the influence of air vitiation on the startability and performance of a hypersonic inlet is investigated through two-dimensional (2D) numerical simulation. The study examines the vitiation effects introduced by carbon dioxide and water vapor, on the basis of maintaining the static pressure, static temperature and Mach number of the incoming flow. The starting Mach number limits of the inlet are estimated, and it is found that both of these vitiation components lower the starting limit of the inlet. This suggests that the experimental results acquired by tests in combustion wind tunnels overestimate the startability of an inlet and, therefore, combustion-preheated facilities may not be completely trusted in this respect. Deviations in the inlet performance caused by the vitiation are also detected. These are nevertheless minor as long as the flow is at the same started or unstarted condition. A further analysis reveals that it is mainly the increase in the heat capacity, and the resulting weaker shock/compression waves and shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions that account for the aforementioned effects.     

An investigation of the heat transfer and static pressure on the over-tip casing wall of an axial turbine operating at engine representative flow conditions. (I). Time-mean results

The over-tip casing of the high-pressure turbine in a modern gas turbine engine is subjected to strong convective heat transfer that can lead to thermally induced failure (burnout) of this component. However, the complicated flow physics in this region is dominated by the close proximity of the moving turbine blades, which gives rise to significant temporal variations at the blade-passing frequency. The understanding of the physical processes that control the casing metal temperature is still limited and this fact has significant implications for the turbine design strategy. A series of experiments has been performed that seeks to address some of these important issues. This article reports the measurements of time-mean heat transfer and time-mean static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow turbine operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas turbine engines. Time-resolved measurements of these flow variables (that reveal the details of the blade-tip/casing interaction physics) are presented in a companion paper. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 10⁶ based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The axial and circumferential distributions of heat transfer rate, adiabatic wall temperature, Nusselt number and static pressure are presented. The data reveal large axial variations in the wall heat flux and adiabatic wall temperature that are shown to be primarily associated with the reduction in flow stagnation temperature through the blade row. The heat flux falls by a factor of 6 (from 120 to 20 kW/m²). In contrast, the Nusselt number falls by just 36% between the rotor inlet plane and 80% rotor axial chord; additionally, this drop is near to linear from 20% to 80% rotor axial chord. The circumferential variations in heat transfer rate are small, implying that the nozzle guide vanes do not produce a strong variation in casing boundary layer properties in the region measured. The casing static pressure measurements follow trends that can be expected from the blade loading distribution, with maximum values immediately upstream of the rotor inlet plane, and then a decreasing trend with axial position as the flow is turned and accelerated in the relative frame of reference. The time-mean static pressure measurements on the casing wall also reveal distinct circumferential variations that are small in comparison to the large pressure gradient in the axial direction.     

Background oriented schlieren for flow visualisation in hypersonic impulse facilities

Experiments to demonstrate the use of the background-oriented schlieren (BOS) technique in hypersonic impulse facilities are reported. BOS uses a simple optical set-up consisting of a structured background pattern, an electronic camera with a high shutter speed and a high intensity light source. The visualization technique is demonstrated in a small reflected shock tunnel with a Mach 4 conical nozzle, nozzle supply pressure of 2.2 MPa and nozzle supply enthalpy of 1.8 MJ/kg. A 20° sharp circular cone and a model of the MUSES-C re-entry body were tested. Images captured were processed using PIV-style image analysis to visualize variations in the density field. The shock angle on the cone measured from the BOS images agreed with theoretical calculations to within 0.5°. Shock standoff distances could be measured from the BOS image for the re-entry body. Preliminary experiments are also reported in higher enthalpy facilities where flow luminosity can interfere with imaging of the background pattern. A version of this paper was presented at the 25th International Symposium on Shock Waves in Bangalore in July 2005.     

用于低温风洞的新颖制冷方法

描述了用于低温风洞的新颖制冷系统,利用热交换器回收排气冷量预冷压缩空气,然后再用热分离器将其降至深低温作风洞气源．原理性实验结果证实新制冷方法的可行性．讨论了新制冷方法产生的有一定压力的低温空气作引射气源,引射驱动回流型风洞的特性．其制冷方法与现有低温风洞喷雾液氮制冷相比,由于仅需压缩空气而无需液氮,造价更便宜．更由于能量利用合理,效率高,因而运行成本可显著降低．     

Comparison of heat transfer distributions on a flat plate impinged by under-expanded jets from a convergent nozzle and a circular orifice

Experiments are carried out for a circular orifice and a nozzle for the same contraction ratio to explore the heat transfer characteristics. The pressure ratios covered in this study are 2.36, 3.04, 3.72, 4.4 and 5.08 for jet to plate distances (z/d) of 2, 4, 6 and 8. The presence of vena contracta and absence of the stagnation bubble in the orifice flow are confirmed from the surface pressure distributions. It is found that higher Nusselt number for the orifice than the nozzle are due to different shock structures and shear layer dynamics. Peak Nusselt number is found as high as 84 % than that for the nozzle. In the wall jet region, the heat transfer rates for the orifice and nozzle are almost of the same order, thus producing steeper temperature gradients under similar operating conditions. The average heat transfer rates are almost 25 % higher for the orifice than that of the nozzle. The recovery factors are in general higher in case of orifice than the nozzle. However, this has not resulted in decreasing the heat transfer rates due to shear layer dynamics.     

Simulation of a complete reflected shock tunnel showing a vortex mechanism for flow contamination

Simulations of a complete reflected shock tunnel facility have been performed with the aim of providing a better understanding of the flow through these facilities. In particular, the analysis is focused on the premature contamination of the test flow with the driver gas. The axisymmetric simulations model the full geometry of the shock tunnel and incorporate an iris-based model of the primary diaphragm rupture mechanics, an ideal secondary diaphragm and account for turbulence in the shock tube boundary layer with the Baldwin-Lomax eddy viscosity model. Two operating conditions were examined: one resulting in an over-tailored mode of operation and the other resulting in approximately tailored operation. The accuracy of the simulations is assessed through comparison with experimental measurements of static pressure, pitot pressure and stagnation temperature. It is shown that the widely-accepted driver gas contamination mechanism in which driver gas ‘jets’ along the walls through action of the bifurcated foot of the reflected shock, does not directly transport the driver gas to the nozzle at these conditions. Instead, driver gas laden vortices are generated by the bifurcated reflected shock. These vortices prevent jetting of the driver gas along the walls and convect driver gas away from the shock tube wall and downstream into the nozzle. Additional vorticity generated by the interaction of the reflected shock and the contact surface enhances the process in the over-tailored case. However, the basic mechanism appears to operate in a similar way for both the over-tailored and the approximately tailored conditions.Communicated by R. R. Boyce     

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.     

An investigation of the heat transfer and static pressure on the over-tip casing wall of an axial turbine operating at engine representative flow conditions. (II). Time-resolved results

This article reports the measurements of time-resolved heat transfer rate and time-resolved static pressure that have been made on the over-tip casing of a transonic axial-flow turbine operating at flow conditions that are representative of those found in modern gas turbine engines. This data is discussed and analysed in the context of explaining the physical mechanisms that influence the casing heat flux. The physical size of the measurement domain was one nozzle guide vane-pitch and from −20% to +80% rotor axial chord. Additionally, measurements of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature are presented. The time-mean data from the same set of experiments is presented and discussed in Part I of this article. The nozzle guide vane exit flow conditions in these experiments were a Mach number of 0.93 and a Reynolds number of 2.7 × 10⁶ based on nozzle guide vane mid-height axial chord. The data reveal large temporal variations in heat transfer characteristics to the casing wall that are associated with blade-tip passing events and in particular the blade over-tip leakage flow. The highest instantaneous heat flux to the casing wall occurs within the blade-tip gap, and this has been found to be caused by a combination of increasing flow temperature and heat transfer coefficient. The time-resolved static pressure measurements have enabled a detailed understanding of the tip-leakage aerodynamics to be established, and the physical mechanisms influencing the casing heat load have been determined. In particular, this has focused on the role of the unsteady blade lift distribution that is produced by upstream vane effects. This has been seen to modulate the tip-leakage flow and cause subsequent variations in casing heat flux. The novel experimental techniques employed in these experiments have allowed the measurement of the time-resolved adiabatic wall temperature on the casing wall. These data clearly show the falling flow temperatures as work is extracted from the gas by the turbine. Additionally, these temperature measurements have revealed that the absolute stagnation temperature within the tip-gap flow can be above the turbine inlet total temperature, and indicates the presence of a work process that leads to high adiabatic wall temperatures as a blade-tip passes a point on the casing wall. It is shown that this phenomena can be explained by consideration of the flow vectors within the tip-gap, and that these in turn are related to the local blade loading distribution. The paper also assesses the relative importance of different time-varying phenomena to the casing heat load distribution. This analysis has indicated that up to half of the casing heat load is associated with the over-tip leakage flow. Finally, the implications of the experimental findings are discussed in relation to future shroudless turbine design, and in particular the importance of accounting for the high heat fluxes found within the tip-gap.     

Heat transfer and flow around a circular cylinder with tripping-wires

An experimental study was conducted on the heat transfer under the condition of constant heat flux and the flow around a circular cylinder with tripping-wires, which were affixed at ± 65° from the forward stagnation point on the cylinder surface. The testing fluid was air and the Reynolds number Red, based on the cylinder diameter, ranged from 1.2 × 10⁴ to 5.2×10⁴. Especially investigated are the interactions between the heat transfer and the flow in the critical flow state, in relation to the static pressure distribution along the cylinder surface and the mean and turbulent fluctuating velocities in the wake. It is found that the heat transfer from the cylinder to the cross flow is in very close connection with the width of near wake.     

Influence of the velocity gradient on the stagnation point heating in hypersonic flow

In a number of experimental and numerical publications a deviation has been found between the measured or computed stagnation point heat flux and that given by the theory of Fay and Riddell. Since the formula of Fay and Riddell is used in many applications to yield a reference heat flux for experiments performed in wind tunnels, for flight testing and numerical simulations, it is important that this reference heat flux is as accurate as possible. There are some shortcomings in experiments and numerical simulations which are responsible in some part for the deviations observed. But, as will be shown in the present paper, there is also a shortcoming on the theoretical side which plays a major role in the deviation between the theoretical and experimental/numerical stagnation point heat fluxes. This is caused by the method used so far to determine the tangential velocity gradient at the stagnation point. This value is important for the stagnation point heat flux, which so far has been determined by a simple Newtonian flow model. In the present paper a new expression for the tangential velocity gradient is derived, which is based on a more realistic flow model. An integral method is used to solve the conservation equations and, for the stagnation point, yields an explicit solution of the tangential velocity gradient. The solution achieved is also valid for high temperature flows with real gas effects. A comparison of numerical and experimental results shows good agreement with the stagnation point heat flux according to the theory of Fay and Riddell, if the tangential velocity gradient is determined by the new theory presented in this paper.This article was processed by the author using theLAT_EX style filepljour2 from Springer-Verlag.     

高速双锥绕流中热化学与输运模型影响研究

激波与边界层之间相互作用是高超声速飞行中的常见现象,对飞行器气动性能与飞行安全至关重要.对于高焓来流,流场中通常存在复杂的物理化学现象,此时准确模拟流场中激波边界层相互作用的难度大,相关物理化学建模仍有待进一步考察和研究.本文针对最近文献中纯净空气高超声速双锥绕流实验开展数值研究,分别研究了不同热化学模型与输运模型对壁面压力与热流的影响.热力学模型包括完全气体、热力学平衡和非平衡模型,化学模型包括冻结和非平衡化学模型,输运模型包括经典的Wilke/Blottner/Eucken模型与更加复杂的Gupta/SCEBD模型,以及考虑壁面催化/非催化影响的模型.计算了6个不同算例,涵盖了低焓至高焓来流等不同工况.壁面压力与热流的数值计算结果与实验结果符合较好;对于低焓来流,计算结果主要受到分子内能分布的影响,输运模型对计算结果的影响不大;对于高焓来流,一方面计算结果受到化学反应与壁面催化的影响较大,另一方面不同输运模型对计算结果的影响也更加明显.      

Local heat transfer distribution between smooth flat surface and impinging air jet from a circular nozzle at low Reynolds numbers

An experimental investigation is performed to study the effect of jet to plate spacing and low Reynolds number on the local heat transfer distribution to normally impinging submerged circular air jet on a smooth and flat surface. A single jet from a straight circular nozzle of length-to-diameter ratio (l/d) of 83 is tested. Reynolds number based on nozzle exit condition is varied between 500 and 8,000 and jet-to-plate spacing between 0.5 and 8 nozzle diameters. The local heat transfer characteristics are obtained using thermal images from infrared thermal imaging technique. It was observed that at lower Reynolds numbers, the effect of jet to plate distances covered during the study on the stagnation point Nusselt numbers is minimal. At all jet to plate distances, the stagnation point Nusselt numbers decrease monotonically with the maximum occurring at a z/d of 0.5 as opposed to the stagnation point Nusselt numbers at high Reynolds numbers which occur around a z/d of 6.