Unsteady transonic nozzle flow of dense gases

Abstract

Vapours of retrograde fluids, i.e. media with large values of the specific heats, may have the remarkable property that sonic conditions are reached three times rather than once during isentropic expansion or compression. As a result, the acceleration of such a fluid through a converging-diverging Laval nozzle under steady flow conditions may lead to the occurrence of an expansion shock discontinuity. Theoretical considerations then suggest that nozzles with two throats should be designed to achieve a full shock-free subsonic-supersonic expansion.In this study the unsteady flow of a dense, retrograde gas through slender nozzles (with one and two throats) is considered. The combination of the Navier-Stokes equations supplemented with a non-classical equation of state for the fluid yields a generalized wave equation, with its validity restricted to flow conditions near the critical value M = 1. This equation is used to study the transition process which sets in if a steady subsonic solution is perturbed by lowering the pressure at the end of the nozzle.