Supersonic flow separation in planar nozzles

We present experimental results on separation of supersonic flow inside a convergent–divergent (CD) nozzle. The study is motivated by the occurrence of mixing enhancement outside CD nozzles operated at low pressure ratio. A novel apparatus allows investigation of many nozzle geometries with large optical access and measurement of wall and centerline pressures. The nozzle area ratio ranged from 1.0 to 1.6 and the pressure ratio ranged from 1.2 to 1.8. At the low end of these ranges, the shock is nearly straight. As the area ratio and pressure ratio increase, the shock acquires two lambda feet. Towards the high end of the ranges, one lambda foot is consistently larger than the other and flow separation occurs asymmetrically. Downstream of the shock, flow accelerates to supersonic speed and then recompresses. The shock is unsteady, however, there is no evidence of resonant tones. The separation shear layer on the side of the large lambda foot exhibits intense instability that grows into large eddies near the nozzle exit. Time-resolved wall pressure measurements indicate that the shock oscillates in a piston-like manner and most of the energy of the oscillations is at low frequency.      

Experimental evaluation of side-loads in LE-7A prototype engine nozzle

During development tests of the LE-7A prototype engine, severe side-loads were observed. The side-load peaks appeared only in certain limited conditions during start-up and shut-down transients. To investigate phenomena causing those severe side-loads observed in the LE-7A prototype engine nozzle, series of cold-flow tests and hot-firing tests as well as CFD analyses were conducted. As a result of the hot-firing tests, two different phenomena were found to cause severe side-loads in the LE-7A prototype engine nozzle. One was a restricted shock separation (RSS) flow structure and the other was a phenomenon termed “separation jump,” the rapid movement of the separation location in the vicinity of the step. A step was installed in the LE-7A prototype to supply film-cooling gas. Hot-firing test results showed that RSS can occur for a limited mixture ratio. Detailed flow structure of RSS on the nozzle surface was revealed by the cold-flow tests. Measured pressures and visualized images of cold-flow tests clarified the mechanism causing the separation jump. The key phenomenon ruling the separation jump was found to be the base flow behind the step. Based on the results of the present study, the latest LE-7A engine nozzle design has been changed to eliminate the severe side-load.

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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     

Investigation on onset of shock-induced separation

A great number of experimental data indicating shock wave/boundary layer interactions in internal or external supersonic flows were reviewed to make clear the mechanism of the interaction and to decide the onset of shock-induced separation. The interesting conclusions were obtained for the considerably wide range of flow geometries that the onset of separation is independent of the flow geometries and the boundary layer Reynolds number. It is found that the pressure rise necessary to separate the boundary layer in supersonic external flows could be applied to such internal flows as overexpanded nozzles or diffusers. This is due to the fact that the separation phenomenon caused by shock wave/boundary layer interactions is processed through a supersonic deceleration. The shock-induced separation in almost all of interacting flow fields is governed by the concept of free interaction, and the onset of shock-induced separation is only a function of the Mach number just upstream of shock wave. However, physical scales of the produced separation are not independent of the downstream flow fields.     

Shock pattern in the plume of rocket nozzles: needs for design consideration

For ideal nozzles, basically two different types of shock structures in the plume may appear for overexpanded flow conditions, a regular shock reflection or a Mach reflection at the nozzle centreline. Especially for rocket propulsion, other nozzle types besides the ideal nozzles are often used, including simple conical, thrust-optimized or parabolic contoured nozzles. Depending on the contour type, another shock structure may appear: the so-called cap-shock pattern. The exact knowledge of the plume pattern is of importance for mastering the engine operation featuring uncontrolled flow separation inside the nozzle, appearing during engine start-up and shut-down operation. As consequence of uncontrolled flow separation, lateral loads may be induced. The side-load character strongly depends on the nozzle design, and is a key feature for the nozzle’s mechanical structure layout. It is shown especially for the VULCAIN and VULCAIN 2 nozzle, how specific shock patterns evolve during transients, and how - by the nozzle design - undesired flow phenomena can be avoided.     

Open and closed-loop control of transonic buffet on 3D turbulent wings using fluidic devices

This paper presents an overview of the work performed recently at ONERA on the control of the buffet phenomenon. This aerodynamic instability induces strong wall pressure fluctuations and as such limits aircraft envelope; consequently, it is interesting to try to delay its onset, in order to enlarge aircraft flight envelop, but also to provide more flexibility during the design phase. Several types of flow control have been investigated, either passive (mechanical vortex generators) or active (fluidic VGs, fluidic trailing-edge device (TED)). It is shown than mechanical and fluidic VGs are able to delay buffet onset in the angle-of-attack domain by suppressing the separation downstream of the shock. The effect of the fluidic TED is different, the separation is not suppressed, but the rear wing loading is increased and consequently the buffet onset is not delayed to higher angles of attack, but only to higher lift coefficient. Then, a closed loop control methodology based on a quasi-static approach is defined and several architectures are tested for various parameters such as the input signal, the objective function or, the tuning of the feedback gain. All closed loop methods are implemented on a dSPACE device calculating in real time the fluidic actuators command from the unsteady pressure sensors data.     

Expansion of the detonation products of lead azide via a supersonic nozzle

The cloud of products formed following the detonation of lead azide (LA) contains gaseous species and solid particles. The dynamics of the detonation products expanding freely or through a supersonic nozzle into vacuum is unraveled via the temporal profiles of the pressure, the emission from Pb atoms and the attenuation of a He-Ne beam. The velocity of the fastest gaseous species is found from the onset of the pressure rise and the emission at a given distance from the LA sample, and the velocity of the fastest solid particles from the attenuation. In the free expansion, the respective velocities are 4.5±0.1 and 3.8±0.2 km/s and in the nozzle expansion 5.1±0.2 and 1.4±0.2 km/s. The expansion into atmospheric pressure air is also monitored and found to be much slower than that into vacuum. The utilization of nozzles as a means for obtaining a particle free, transparent medium of detonation products is stressed in the context of exploiting explosives for achieving chemical lasers in the visible wavelength region.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.     

An experimental investigation of hypervelocity flow in a conical nozzle

The flow in a conical nozzle is examined experimentally for a range of hypervelocity conditions in a free-piston shock tunnel. The pitot pressure levels compare reasonably well with an inviscid numerical prediction which includes a correction for the growth of the nozzle wall boundary layer. The size of the nozzle wall boundary layer seems to be well predicted by semi-empirical expressions developed for perfect gas flows, as do data from other free-piston shock tunnels.     

Investigations of gas and particle dynamics in first generation needle-free drug delivery devices

Abstract. Transdermal powdered drug delivery involves the propulsion of solid drug particles into the skin by means of high-speed gas-particle flow. The fluid dynamics of this technology have been investigated in devices consisting of a convergent-divergent nozzle located downstream of a bursting membrane, which serves both to initiate gas flow (functioning as the diaphragm of a shock tube) and to retain the drug particles before actuation. Pressure surveys of flow in devices with contoured nozzles of relatively low exit-to-throat area ratio and a conical nozzle of higher area ratio have indicated a starting process of approximately 200 s typical duration, followed by a quasi-steady supersonic flow. The velocity of drug particles exiting the contoured nozzles was measured at up to 1050 m/s, indicating that particle acceleration took place primarily in the quasi-steady flow. In the conical nozzle, which had larger exit area ratio, the quasi-steady nozzle flow was found to be overexpanded, resulting in a shock system within the nozzle. Particles were typically delivered by these nozzles at 400 m/s, suggesting that the starting process and the quasi-steady shock processed flow are both responsible for acceleration of the particle payload. The larger exit area of the conical nozzle tested enables drug delivery over a larger target disc, which may be advantageous. Received 12 March 2000 / Accepted 8 June 2000     

Inviscid interaction in the thin shock layer at high mach numbers

Hypersonic perfect gas flow past the weakly curved end face of a circular cylinder is considered in the thin shock layer approximation. Regimes in which the shape of the end face is not a monotonic function of the radius but contains, for example, a central body of variable height are studied. It is found that, as the central body is extended, a break is formed in the slope of the shock. Smoothing takes place in a short zone of interaction between the main part of the thin shock layer, the shock, and the small near-wall potential jet. The solution, which depends continuously on a parameter, exists over a limited height range and bifurcates when a critical value is exceeded.     

Dynamic characteristics of pulsed supersonic fuel sprays

This paper describes the dynamic characteristics of pulsed, supersonic liquid fuel sprays or jets injected into ambient air. Simple, single hole nozzles were employed with the nozzle sac geometries being varied. Different fuel types, diesel fuel, bio-diesel, kerosene, and gasoline were used to determine the effects of fuel properties on the spray characteristics. A vertical two-stage light gas gun was employed as a projectile launcher to provide a high velocity impact to produce the liquid jet. The injection pressure was around 0.88–1.24 GPa in all cases. The pulsed, supersonic fuel sprays were visualized by using a high-speed video camera and shadowgraph method. The spray tip penetration and velocity attenuation and other characteristics were examined and are described here. An instantaneous spray tip velocity of 1,542 m/s (Mach number 4.52) was obtained. However, this spray tip velocity can be sustained for only a very short period (a few microseconds). It then attenuates very quickly. The phenomenon of multiple high frequency spray pulses generated by a single shot impact and the changed in the angle of the shock structure during the spray flight, which had already been observed in previous studies, is again noted. Multiple shock waves from the conical nozzle spray were also clearly captured.      

Experimental analysis of unsteady separated flows in a supersonic planar nozzle

The unsteady aspects of shock-induced-separation patterns have been investigated inside a Mach 2 planar nozzle. The mean location of the shock can vary by changing, relatively to the nozzle throat, the height of the second throat which is positioned downstream of the square test section. This study focuses on the wall pressure fluctuations spectra and the unsteady behaviour of the shock. Symmetric shock configurations appear both for the largest openings of the second throat, and for the smallest openings. For an intermediate opening the shock system exhibits asymmetrical configurations. A coating with roughnesses sticked on the throat part of the nozzle in order to modify the state of the incoming boundary layers (from smooth to rought turbulent statement) is a driver for the asymmetry. The fluctuating displacements of the shock patterns were analysed by using an ultra fast shadowgraph visualization technique. A spectral analysis of the unsteady wall pressure measurements has revealed low frequency phenomena governed by large structure dynamics in the separated flows. Communicated by K. Takayama PACS 02.60.Cb; 05.10.Ln; 47.11.+j; 47.15.Cb; 47.40.Nm     

激波的传播与干扰

激波的传播特性既取决于激波的产生条件,也与所处的传播环境密切相关。驱动条件、几何边界、介质的物理化学属性等发生变化时,都会引起激波传播特性的改变,而激波的变化反过来又会对其波及的流场产生影响。尽管激波传播及其干扰现象广泛存在于自然界和人类科技活动之中,其复杂机理的认识、规律的描述乃至应用潜力的挖掘仍有漫长的路要走。本文根据气体中激波传播和干扰现象以及与之相关的理论描述特征,在对激波传播以及反射、折射等基本现象进行简要阐述的基础上,重点围绕目前的热点问题,包括激波/激波干扰、激波/边界层干扰、激波与湍流作用、激波的聚焦与点火以及激波作用下气体界面不稳定性等研究进行了介绍和讨论,旨在对近年来该领域的进展及获得的成果做一个概述和归纳,期望对将来的深入研究有一个鉴借意义。     

Study on Mach stems induced by interaction of planar shock waves on two intersecting wedges

The properties of Mach stems in hypersonic corner flow induced by Mach interaction over 3D inter-secting wedges were studied theoretically and numerically. A new method called “spatial dimension reduction” was used to analyze theoretically the location and Mach num-ber behind Mach stems. By using this approach, the problem of 3D steady shock/shock interaction over 3D intersecting wedges was transformed into a 2D moving one on cross sec-tions, which can be solved by shock-polar theory and shock dynamics theory. The properties of Mach interaction over 3D intersecting wedges can be analyzed with the new method, including pressure, temperature, density in the vicinity of triple points, location, and Mach number behind Mach stems. Theoretical results were compared with numerical results, and good agreement was obtained. Also, the influence of Mach number and wedge angle on the properties of a 3D Mach stem was studied.     

楔-前掠圆柱构型第Ⅱ类激波干扰气动热特性研究

针对楔-前掠圆柱构型激波干扰, 采用数值模拟和理论分析方法, 研究了第Ⅱ类干扰下游流场结构和气动热特性随几何参数的变化规律. 数值结果表明, 在不同楔角和前掠角组合下, 第Ⅱ类干扰下游形成了3种射流结构, 分别是超声速、亚声速和跨声速射流. 其中超声速射流会导致壁面热流大幅上升, 亚声速和跨声速射流对壁面冲击较弱, 壁面热流维持在较低水平. 楔角是决定射流速度的重要因素, 小楔角下产生对热流影响较大的超声速射流, 大楔角下产生对热流影响较小的亚声速和跨声速射流. 因此在一定参数范围内, 增大楔角不仅不会造成热流上升, 反而会因为射流变为亚声速造成热流减小. 利用干扰区内局部均匀流动假设, 对亚/超声速射流的产生条件进行了理论分析与数值验证. 理论分析结果表明, 亚声速和跨声速射流这两种产生热流较小的干扰类型在一定参数范围内普遍存在, 在给定来流马赫数时, 楔角越大时越容易产生亚声速或跨声速射流. 由于采用了均匀流动假设, 给定来流马赫数下理论分析得到的亚/超声速射流临界楔角略高于CFD结果, 误差在1°左右.     

Experimental study on the flow field behind a backward-facing step using a detonation-driven shock tunnel

The supersonic combustion RAM jet (SCRAM jet) engine is expected to be used in next-generation space planes and hypersonic airliners. To develop the engine, stabilized combustion in a supersonic flow field must be attained even though the residence time of flow is extremely short. A mixing process for breathed air and fuel injected into the supersonic flow field is therefore one of the most important design problems. Because the flow inside the SCRAM jet engine has high enthalpy, an experimental facility is required to produce the high-enthalpy flow field. In this study, a detonation-driven shock tunnel was built to produce a high-enthalpy flow, and a model SCRAM jet engine equipped with a backward-facing step was installed in the test section of the facility to visualize flow fields using a color schlieren technique and high-speed video camera. The fuel was injected perpendicularly to a Mach 3 flow behind the backward-facing step. The height of the step, the injection distance and injection pressure were varied to investigate the effects of the step on air/fuel mixing characteristics. The results show that the recirculation region increases as the fuel injection pressure increases. For injection behind the backward-facing step, mixing efficiency is much higher than with a flat plate. Also, the injection position has a significant influence on the size of the recirculation region generated behind the backward-facing step. The schlieren photograph and pressure histories measured on the bottom wall of the SCRAM jet engine model show that the fuel was ignited behind the step.Communicated by K. Takayama PACS 47.40.Ki     

A computational study of supersonic disk-gap-band parachutes using Large-Eddy Simulation coupled to a structural membrane

Large-scale fluid-structure interaction simulations of compressible flows over flexible supersonic disk-gap-band parachutes are compared with matching experimental results. We utilize adaptive mesh refinement, large-eddy simulation of compressible flow coupled with a thin-shell structural finite-element model. The simulations are carried out in the regime where large canopy-area oscillations are present, around and above Mach 2, where strong nonlinear coupling between the system of bow shocks, turbulent wake and canopy is observed. Comparisons of drag history and its dependence on Mach number are discussed. Furthermore, it is observed that important dynamical features of this coupled system can only be reproduced when sufficient grid resolution is used. Lack of resolution resulted in incorrect flow-physics prediction and, consequently, incorrect fluid-structure interaction coupling.