Flow and heat transfer in underexpanded nonequilibrium jets of an induction plasmatron

The results of experimental and numerical investigations of heat transfer to a cylindrical flatended model in underexpanded high-enthalpy air jets, including those flowing out through cylindrical heads of an elongated channel, are presented for the case of the operating parameters of the 100-kW VGU-4 plasma gun.     

Numerical simulation of thermally and chemically nonequilibrium flows and heat transfer in underexpanded induction plasmatron jets

The results of numerical simulation are presented for thermally and chemically nonequilibrium air plasma flows in a plasmatron discharge channel and underexpanded dissociated and partially ionized air jets flowing past a cylindrical model with a blunt leading edge and cooled copper surface under the experimental conditions realized in a VGU-4 100 kW induction plasmatron (Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences) (see, for example, [1, 2]). The nonequilibrium excitation of the vibrational degrees of freedom of the molecules in the modal approximation and the difference between the electron and translational heavy-particle temperatures are taken into account in the calculations. The calculated data on the heat transfer and pressure at the stagnation point are compared with the results obtained within the framework of the thermally equilibrium model. Comparison with the experimental data obtained in the Institute for Problem in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Laboratory for interaction between plasma and radiation and materials) and kindly provided for comparison purposes gives satisfactory agreement.     

Numerical simulation of flows in a high-frequency induction plasmatron and of heat transfer in underexpanded air jets

Some results of numerical simulation of flows in the discharge channel of the IPG-4 induction plasmatron installed at the Institute for Problems in Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPM RAS) and in underexpanded jets of dissociated and partially ionized air from sonic nozzles are discussed. These results are in good agreement with experimental data on heat fluxes and on the pressure at the stagnation point of a blunt cylindrical body. These experimental data were obtained at the IPM RAS Laboratory for Interaction of Plasma and Radiation with Materials.     

Numerical analysis of simulation accuracy for hypersonic heat transfer in subsonic jets of dissociated nitrogen

One-dimensional problems of the flow in a boundary layer of finite thickness on the end face of a model and in a thin viscous shock layer on a sphere are solved numerically for three regimes of subsonic flow past a model with a flat blunt face exposed to subsonic jets of pure dissociated nitrogen in an induction plasmatron [1] (for stagnation pressures of (10⁴–3·10⁴) N/m² and an enthalpy of 2.1·10⁷ m²/sec²) and three regimes of hypersonic flow past spheres with parameters related by the local heat transfer simulation conditions [2, 3]. It is established that given equality of the stagnation pressures, enthalpies and velocity gradients on the outer edges of the boundary layers at the stagnation points on the sphere and the model, for a model of radius R_m=1.5·10^–2 m in a subsonic jet the accuracy of reproduction of the heat transfer to the highly catalytic surface of a sphere in a uniform hypersonic flow is about 3%. For surfaces with a low level of catalytic activity the accuracy of simulation of the nonequilibrium heat transfer is determined by the deviations of the temperatures at the outer edges of the boundary layers on the body and the model. For this case the simulation conditions have the form: dU_e/dx=idem, p₀=idem, T_e=idem. At stagnation pressuresP ₀2·10⁴ N/m² irrespective of the catalycity of the surface the heat flux at the stagnation point and the structure of the boundary layer near the axis of symmetry of models with a flat blunt face of radius R_m1.5·10^–2 m exposed to subsonic nitrogen jets in a plasmatron with a discharge channel radius R_c=3·10^–2 m correspond closely to the case of spheres in hypersonic flows with parameters determined by the simulation conditions [2, 3].Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 135–143, March–April, 1990.     

Study of heat transfer in the separation zones formed in front of supersonic jets in a subsonic carrier flow

The heat transfer taking place between the gas and the surface of the plate in the zone of three-dimensional separation of the turbulent boundary layer in front of a set of supersonic jets injected perpendicularly to a subsonic carrier flow is considered. The aim of this investigation is to establish the main physical characteristics of heat transfer in the separation zones in front of jet obstacles and to obtain the distributions of the local heat-transfer coefficients and the temperature of the thermally insulating wall as functions of the parameters of the carrier flow and the injected jets. Analysis of the experimental results yields certain approximating relationships for the distribution of the local heat-transfer coefficients as functions of the Mach number of the carrier flow M, the Mach number of the jet M_j, the relative boundary-layer displacement thickness _s= _s ^* /d, and the degree of jet superheating T_ojT_o relative to the separation zones in front of supersonic jet obstacles.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 68–72, July–August, 1975.     

Wavepacket models for subsonic twin jets using 3D parabolized stability equations

An extension of the classical parabolized stability equations to flows strongly dependent on the two cross-stream spatial directions and weakly dependent on the streamwise one is applied to model the large-scale structures present in twin-jet configurations. The existence of these unsteady flow structures, usually referred to as wavepackets, has been demonstrated in the literature for both subsonic and supersonic round jets, along with their relation to the generation of highly directional noise emitted in the aft direction. The present study considers twin-jet configurations with different separations at high Reynolds number and subsonic conditions. The existing instability modes for the twin-jet mean flow, their dependence on the separation of the two jets, and the interaction between the wavepackets originating from the two jets is investigated here. Arising from the axisymmetric mode for single round jets, two dominant modes are found for twin jets: a varicose one, relatively insensitive to jets' proximity, but likely to be efficient in radiating noise; a sinuous one, whose amplification is strongly dependent on the jets' distance, and which can be expected to produce weaker acoustic signatures.     

Asymmetric flow of subsonic and sonic jets over an infinite wedge

A study is made of the flow of subsonic or sonic jets over an infinite wedge when the stagnation streamline bifurcates at the tip of the wedge. This regime can be realized only for a definite (previously unknown) relationship between the geometrical parameters. The problem is solved in the hodograph plane by the numerical method of [1] developed for the problem of a profiled Laval nozzle. A solution to the asymmetric problem obtained in the hodograph plane can be realized physically only for a definite relationship between the boundary values for the flow function. This relationship (which generalizes Prandtl's well-known formula [2] derived for asymmetric flow of incompressible jets over a plate on the basis of the momentum theorem) is obtained by analyzing the asymptotic behavior of the solution near the stagnation point. Examples of calculations are given.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 137–141, March–April, 1980.     

Coherent structures and wavepackets in subsonic transitional turbulent jets

A large eddy simulation (LES) is performed for two subsonic jets with a Reynolds number of Re = 105, which have different core temperatures, i.e., the cold and hot jet. The far-field overall sound pressure levels (OASPL) and noise spectra are well validated against previous exper-imental results. It is found that the OASPL is raised by heating at shallow angles. The most energetic coherent struc-tures are extracted with specified frequencies using the filter based on the frequency domain variant of the snapshot method of proper orthogonal decomposition (POD). The m = 0, 1 modes have high coherence of near-field pres-sure for both jets, while the coherence of m = 0 modes is enhanced greatly by heating. Based on the coherent struc-tures, spatial wavepackets are educed and the characteristics of growth, saturation and decay are analyzed and compared between the two jets in detail. The results show that heat-ing would enhance the linear growth rate for high frequency components, and nonlinear growth rates for low frequency components in general, which are responsible for higher OASPL in the hot jet. The far-field sound generated by wavepackets is computed using the Kirchhoff extrapolation, which matches well with that of LES at shallow angles. This indicates that the wavepackets associated with coherent structures are dominant sound sources in forced transitional turbulent jets. Additionally, the present POD method is proven to be a robust tool to extract the salient features of the wavepackets in turbulent flows.     

Turbulence suppression in subsonic jets by high-frequency acoustic excitation

The influence of high-frequency acoustic excitation of a submerged round turbulent jet flowing out of a nozzle with both laminar and turbulent boundary layers at the nozzle outlet on the suppression of turbulent velocity fluctuations in the initial and transition regions of the jet is experimentally investigated. It is established that in the case of the turbulent boundary layer a higher excitation level is needed to realize the suppression effect than in the case of the laminar boundary layer. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 28–34, January–February, 1999. The study was carried out with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project No. 96-02-19577).     

The effect of convective heat exchange on plasmatron characteristics

Experimental data on plasmatron efficiency are generalized. Data for the 760-32 mm Hg pressure range are used to obtain a criterial equation for the efficiency and a generalized current-voltage characteristic.     

Effect of surface catalytic activity on nonequilibrium heat transfer in a subsonic jet of dissociated nitrogen

The present paper investigates experimentally and numerically the effect of the heterogeneous recombination of atoms on the heat transfer of models in a subsonic jet of dissociated nitrogen for the conditions of an experiment in the VGU-2 plasma generator and determines the effective probabilities of the heterogeneous recombination of nitrogen atoms for a number of materials at high temperatures.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 3, pp. 166–172, May–June, 1985.     

HF-plasmatron experiment and numerical simulation of heat transfer in underexpanded dissociated-nitrogen jets

Experiments on heat transfer in underexpanded supersonic jets of high-enthalpy nitrogen are performed on the VGU-4 induction high-frequency plasmatron at a pressure of 10.4 GPa in a compression chamber. At gas flow rates of 2.4 and 3.6 g/s and HF generator powers of 45 and 64 kW the heat fluxes to the copper, stainless steel, MPG-7 graphite, and quartz surfaces are measured at the stagnation point of a water-cooled cylindrical, flat-ended model, 20 mm in diameter. In the same regimes the stagnation pressures are measured. The effect of the surface catalyticity with respect to nitrogen atom recombination on the heat flux is demonstrated and the qualitative catalyticity scale of the studied materials is established. In the supersonic regimes nonequilibrium nitrogen plasma flow in the discharge channel of the plasmatron and the underexpanded jet flow past the model are numerically simulated for the experimental conditions. The experimental and calculated data on the stagnation pressures and the heat fluxes to cooled surfaces of the metals, graphite, and quartz are compared.     

Effect of impinging plate geometry on the self-excitation of subsonic impinging jets

In the generation of discrete tones by subsonic impinging jets, there exists a difference of opinion as how the feedback is achieved, i.e., the path of the feedback acoustic waves is whether inside the jet or outside the jet? The only available model (Tam and Ahuja model) for the prediction of an average subsonic jet impingement tone frequency assumes that the upstream part of the feedback loop is closed by an upstream propagating neutral wave of the jet. But, there is no information about the plate geometry in the model. The present study aims at understanding the effect of the plate geometry (size and co-axial hole in the plate) on the self-excitation process of subsonic impinging jets and the path of the acoustic feedback to the nozzle exit. The present results show that there is no effect of plate diameter on the frequency of the self-excitation. A new type of tones is generated for plates with co-axial hole (hole diameter is equal to nozzle exit diameter) for Mach numbers 0.9 and 0.95, in addition to the axisymmetric and helical mode tones observed for plates without co-axial hole. The stability results show that the Strouhal number of the least dispersive upstream propagating neutral waves match with the average Strouhal number of the new tones observed in the present experiments. The present study extends the validity of the model of Tam and Ahuja to a plate with co-axial hole (annular plate) and by doing so, we indirectly confirmed that the major acoustic feedback path to the nozzle exit is inside the jet.     

Hybrid RANS/LES of flow and heat transfer in round impinging jets

Fluid flow and convective heat transfer predictions are presented of round impinging jets for several combinations of nozzle-plate distances H/D = 2, 6 and 13.5 (where D is the nozzle diameter) and Reynolds numbers Re = 5000, 23,000 and 70,000 with the newest version of the k-ω model of Wilcox (2008) and three hybrid RANS/LES models. In the RANS mode of the hybrid RANS/LES models, the k-ω model is recovered. Three formulations are considered to activate the LES mode. The first model is similar to the hybrid models of Davidson and Peng (2003) and Kok et al. (2004). The turbulent length scale is replaced by the grid size in the destruction term of the k-equation and in the definition of the RANS eddy viscosity. As grid size, a maximum measure of the hexahedral grid cell is used. The second model has the same k-equation, but the eddy viscosity is the minimum of the k-ω eddy viscosity and the Smagorinsky eddy viscosity, following a proposal by Batten et al. (2004). The Smagorinsky eddy viscosity is formed with the cube root of the cell volume. The third model has, again, the same k-equation, but has an eddy viscosity which is an intermediate between the eddy viscosities of the first and second models. This is reached by using the cube root of the cell volume in the eddy viscosity formula of the first model.The simulation results are compared with experimental data for the high Reynolds number cases Re = 23,000 and Re = 70,000 and LES data for the low-Reynolds number case Re = 5000. The Reynolds numbers are defined with the nozzle diameter and the bulk velocity at nozzle outlet. At low nozzle-plate distance (the impingement plate is in the core of the jet), turbulent kinetic energy is overpredicted by RANS in the stagnation flow region. This leads to overprediction of the heat transfer rate along the impingement plate in the impact zone. At high nozzle-plate distance (the impingement plate is in the mixed-out region of the jet), the turbulence mixing is underpredicted by RANS in the shear layer of the jet which gives a too high length of the jet core. This also results in overprediction of the heat transfer rate in the impingement zone caused by too big temperature gradients at impingement.All hybrid RANS/LES models are able to correct the heat transfer overprediction of the RANS model. For good predictions at low nozzle-plate distance, it is necessary to sufficiently resolve the formation and development of the near-wall vortices in the jet impingement region. At high nozzle-plate distance, the essence is to capture the evolution and breakup of the flow unsteadiness in the shear layer of the jet, so that accurate mean and fluctuating velocity profiles are obtained in the impingement region. Although the models have a quite different theoretical justification and generate a quite different eddy viscosity in some flow regions, their overall results are very comparable. The reason is that in zones that are crucial for the results, the models behave similarly.     

Experimental study of heat transfer characteristics due to confined impinging two-dimensional jets

Experimental results are presented for characteristics of impingement heat transfer caused by three slot jets. Experimental values were obtained for the dimensionless distance H = 0.5−3, dimensionless pitch P = 6−16, and Reynolds number Re = 500−8000. For laminar impinging flow, they were compared with numerical results. For turbulent impinging flow, two peaks of the local Nusselt number were obtained behind the second nozzle. The position of the second peak approached the nozzle as the space between nozzle and impinged surface decreased. The average Nusselt number between the central and second nozzles was determined from the ratio P/H and the Reynolds number based on the pitch of the nozzles.     

Investigation into the effect of nozzle shape on the nozzle discharge coefficient and heat and mass transfer characteristics of impinging air jets

High velocity impinging air jets are commonly used for heating, cooling and drying, etc. because of the high heat and mass transfer coefficients which are developed in the impingement region. In order to provide data for the designers of industrial equipment, a variety of slot nozzles were tested to determine the effect on heat transfer of both nozzle shape and slot width. A large multi-nozzle rig was also used to measure average heat and mass transfer characteristics under arrays of both slot nozzles and circular holes. As a necessary preliminary to the heat transfer investigation, the discharge coefficients of the nozzles were measured. Then, the experimental results are compared with the simplified flow model. A good agreement was found between the theoretical and experimental results. From the tests, it was also found that the heat transfer results from differently shaped nozzles could be satisfactorily correlated provided that the effective slot width or hole diameter was used to characterize the nozzle shapes.     

Three-dimensional vortex dynamics and convective heat transfer in circular and chevron impinging jets

This paper describes an experimental investigation at Reynolds number equal to 5000 on circular and chevron impinging jets by means of time-resolved tomographic particle image velocimetry (TR-TOMO PIV) and infrared (IR) thermography. TR-TOMO PIV experiments are performed at kilo-hertz repetition rate in a tailored water jet facility where a plate is placed at a distance of 4 diameters from the nozzle exit. Using air as working fluid, time-averaged convective heat transfer is measured on the impinged plate by means of IR thermography with the heated-thin-foil heat transfer sensor for nozzle-to-plate distances ranging from 2 to 10 diameters. The circular impingement shows the shedding and pairing of axisymmetric toroidal vortices with the later growth of azimuthal instabilities and counter-rotating streamwise vortices. In the chevron case, instead, the azimuthal coherence is replaced by counter-rotating pairs of streamwise vortices that develop from the chevron notches. The heat transfer performances of the chevron impingement are compared with those of the circular one, analyzing the influence of the nozzle-to-plate distance on the distribution of Nusselt number. The chevron configuration leads to enhanced heat transfer performances for all the nozzle-to-plate distances hereby investigated with improvements up to 44% at the center of the impinged area for nozzle-to-plate distance of 4. Such enhancements are discussed in relation to the streamwise structures that, compared with the toroidal vortices, are associated with an earlier penetration of turbulence towards the jet axis and a higher arrival speed.     

Investigation of flow and heat transfer in corrugated-undulated plate heat exchangers

 An experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer and fluid flow was conducted for corrugated-undulated plate heat exchanger configurations under transitional and weakly turbulent conditions. For a given geometry of the corrugated plates the geometrical characteristics of the undulated plates, the angle formed by the latter with the main flow direction, and the Reynolds number were made to vary. Distributions of the local heat transfer coefficient were obtained by using liquid-crystal thermography, and surface-averaged values were computed; friction coefficients were measured by wall pressure tappings. Overall heat transfer and pressure drop correlations were derived. Three-dimensional numerical simulations were conducted by a finite-volume method using a low-Reynolds number k–ɛ model under the assumption of fully developed flow. Computed flow fields provided otherwise inaccessible information on the flow patterns and the mechanisms of heat transfer enhancement. Received on 5 February 1999