Unsteady separation point injection for pressure recovery improvement in high subsonic diffusers
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Authors
McElwain, Brian D.
Subjects
Advisors
Paduano, James D.
Date of Issue
2002-06
Date
June 2002
Publisher
Language
Abstract
Serpentine inlet ducts on modem tactical aircraft distort the inlet flow and decrease pressure recovery at the aerodynamic interface plane (AIP). Current inlet designs are more aggressive, increasing distortion and decreasing pressure recovery at the AIP. Often the flow separates from the wall of the diffuser, creating most of the distortion and pressure loss in the inlet. Diffuser separation experiments were conducted at high subsonic cruise conditions in a 2D test section. Periodic injection tangential to the flow at the separation point improved downstream pressure recovery. The injection also increased static pressure measured at the test section walls in the separated region. Flow visualization tests indicated that the separation shrinks as the injection mass flow increases. Pressure recovery also increased as injection mass flow increased. The unsteady component of the injection flow remained constant with injection mass flow, indicating that the steady component of the injection enhanced control of the separation. The preliminary conclusion is that the average velocity of the injection flow should be at least equivalent to the velocity of the core flow to maximize pressure recovery. Experiments were also conducted in a one-sixth scale tactical aircraft diffuser at cruise conditions (3.1 lb/sec, maximum M = 0.65). Periodic injection at the separation point improved the pressure recovery at the AIP. The improvement in pressure recovery at the AIP was limited to the area of pressure loss due to the separation in the diffuser. The diffuser has strong secondary flows that also cause losses at the AIP. These secondary flows prevented the injection from restoring pressure recovery as well as it had in the 2D test section. Higher injection mass flows than in the 2D case were required to achieve the same degree of improvement in pressure recovery at the AIP.
Type
Thesis
Description
This thesis document was issued under the authority of another institution, not NPS. At the time it was written, a copy was added to the NPS Library Collection for reasons not now known. It has been included in the digital archive for its historical value to NPS. Not believed to be a CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) title.
Series/Report No
Department
Aeronautics and Astronautics
Organization
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
156 p. : ill (chiefly col.) ; 28 cm.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.