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