Experiments on the flow and acoustic properties of a moderate-Reynolds-number supersonic jet

Abstract

An experimental investigation of the flow and acoustic properties of a moderate-Reynolds-number (Re = 70000), Mach number M = 2·1, axisymmetric jet has been performed. These measurements extended the experimental studies conducted previously in this laboratory to a higher-Reynolds-number regime where the flow and acoustic processes are considerably more complex. In fact, mean-flow and acoustic properties of this jet were determined to be closely comparable to published properties of high-Reynolds-number jets.The major results of the flow-field measurements demonstrate that the jet shear annulus is unstable over a broad frequency range. The initial growth rates and wavelengths of these instabilities as measured by a hot wire were found to be in reasonable agreement with linear stability theory predictions. Also, in agreement with subsonic-jet results, the potential core of the jet was found to be most responsive to excitation at frequencies near a Strouhal number of S = 0·3. The overall development of organized disturbances around S = 0·2 seems to agree in general with calculations performed using the instability theory originally developed by Morris and Tam.The acoustic near field was characterized in terms of sound-pressure level and directivity for both natural and excited (pure-tone) jets. In addition, propagation direction and azimuthal character of dominant spectral components were also measured. It was determined that the large-scale flow disturbances radiate noise in a directional pattern centred about 30° from the jet axis. The noise from these disturbances appears from simple ray tracing to be generated primarily near the region of the jet where the coherent fluctuations saturate in amplitude and begin to decay. It was also determined that the large-scale components of the near-field sound are made up predominately of axisymmetric (n = 0) and helical (n = ±1) modes. The dominant noise-generation mechanism appears to be a combination of Mach-wave generation and a process associated with the saturation and disintegration of the large-scale instability. Finally, the further development of a noise-generation model of the instability type appears to hold considerable promise.