Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Cylinder Cavity Flows

Abstract

It is well known that supersonic flow around bodies with cavities located on the nose is accompanied by pulsation. A forward-facing cavity may be regarded as a resonance tube. The flow in forward-facing cavities have been the subject for many experimental and numerical investigations. However, the majority models used in their experiments were blunt, hemispherical nose pieces with an axial cylindrical cavity of variable depth. In general, the cavity resonated at the primary-mode frequency, and the bow shock oscillated in a stable, symmetric manner about the nose. However, for intermediate cavity lengths, 0.4 ≤ L/D ≤ 0.7, the pressure signal switched randomly between the two modes of oscillation. The numerical and the experimental research of a supersonic flow past the cylinder with a cavity is carried out in the given work. Relative depth of a cavity ( L/D, D-cylinder diameter) varied in a range from 0.3 up to 1.6. Experiments for Mach number M = 3, Reynolds number Re > 106 and two-, three-dimensional numerical modelling were carried out. Shock wave bimodal pulsations have been experimentally found for depth of a cavity L/D = 0.4. Comparison of the experimental and numerical data has shown their good conformity.