On the subsonic near-wake of a space launcher configuration with exhaust jet

Abstract

Abstract The Ariane 5 failure flight 157 made clear that the loads in the base region of space launcher configurations were underestimated and its near-wake dynamics required more attention. In the recent years, many studies have been published on buffet/buffeting in the critical high subsonic flow regime. Nevertheless, not much experimental data are available on the interaction of the ambient flow with an exhaust jet over a wide subsonic Mach number range. Further, a preceding study without exhaust jet revealed questions regarding a similar distribution of the velocity and Reynolds stress in the near-wake if scaled with the reattachment length. Consequently, a generic space launcher configuration featuring a cold, supersonic, over-expanded jet is investigated experimentally in the vertical test section Cologne (VMK) by means of particle image velocimetry (PIV) for five subsonic Mach numbers ranging from 0.5 to 0.9 with corresponding Reynolds numbers between $$Re_{\text {D}}=0.8\times 10^6$$ReD=0.8×106 to $$1.6\times 10^6$$1.6×106. The velocity and Reynolds stress distribution are provided for the near-wake flow and additionally for the incoming boundary layer. Just as in the preceding study, self-similar features are found in the flow field as long as the separated shear layer reattaches on the solid nozzle wall. Substantial changes are then measured for an alternating (hybrid) reattachment between the solid nozzle wall and supersonic exhaust jet as found for Mach 0.8, one of them being the increased axial turbulence in the recirculation bubble due to a ‘dancing’ large-scale, clockwise-rotating vortex. Graphic abstract