An experimental study of the nozzle lip thickness effect on supersonic jet screech tones

It is well known that screech tones of supersonic jet are generated by a feedback loop driven by the instability waves. Near the nozzle lip where the supersonic jet mixing layer is receptive to external excitation, acoustic disturbances impinging on this area excite the instability waves. This fact implies that the nozzle lip thickness can influence the screech tones of supersonic jet. The objective of the present study is to experimentally investigate the effect of nozzle-lip thickness on screech tones of supersonic jets issuing from a convergent-divergent nozzle. A baffle plate was installed at the nozzle exit to change the nozzle-lip thickness. Detailed acoustic measurement and flow visualization were made to specify the screech tones. The results obtained obviously show that nozzle-lip thickness significantly affects the screech tones of supersonic jet, strongly depending on whether the jet at the nozzle exit is over-expanded or under-expanded.     

Jet flow characteristics of sinusoidal wavy nozzles

The flow characteristics of jets issued from a sinusoidal nozzle with in-phase and 180° out-of-phase exit configurations were investigated using PIV (particle image velocimetry) and flow visualization techniques. The experiments were carried out at a Reynolds number of about 6300 based on the mean width of the jet nozzle. Compared to a normal rectangular jet, the sinusoidal nozzle jets have smaller velocity deficits as the flow goes downstream. In addition, the turbulence intensity is suppressed in the horizontal center plane. For the case of in-phase wavy nozzle jet, the length of the potential core exhibits small variations along the lateral direction, while the 180° out-of-phase wavy nozzle jet shows large lateral variation in the length of potential core. The turbulent kinetic energy of the 180° out-ofphase nozzle jet also shows sinusoidal variation in the horizontal planes. Large-scale vortices shed from the sinusoidal edge of the nozzle interact strongly and migrate toward the center plane as the flow develops downstream.     

The effect of the secondary annular stream on supersonic jet

The present study addresses an experimental investigation of the near field flow structures of supersonic, dual, coaxial, free, jet, which is discharged from the coaxial annular nozzle. The secondary stream is made from the annular nozzle of a design Mach number of 1.0 and the primary inner stream from a convergent-divergent nozzle. The objective of the present study is to investigate the interactions between the secondary stream and inner supersonic jets. The resulting flow fields are quantified by pitot impact and static pressure measurements and are visualized by using a shadowgraph optical method. The pressure ratios of the primary jet are varied to obtain over-expanded flows and moderately under-expanded flows at the exit of the coaxial nozzle. The pressure ratio of the secondary annular stream is varied between 1.0 and 4.0. The results show that the secondary annular stream significantly changes the Mach disc diameter and location, and the impact pressure distributions. The effects of the secondary annular stream on the primary supersonic jet flow are strongly dependent on whether the primary jet is underexpanded or over-expanded at the exit of the coaxial nozzle.     

Influences of mach number and flow incidence on aerodynamic losses of steam turbine blade

An experiment was conducted to investigate the aerodynamic losses of high pressure steam turbine nozzle (526A) subjected to a large range of incident angles (−34° to 26°) and exit Mach numbers (0.6 and 1.15). Measurements included downstream Pitot probe traverses, upstream total pressure, and endwall static pressures. Flow visualization techniques such as shadowgraph and color oil flow visualization were performed to complement the measured data. When the exit Mach number for nozzles increased from 0.9 to 1.1 the total pressure loss coefficient increased by a factor of 7 as compared to the total pressure losses measured at subsonic conditions (M₂<0.9). For the range of incidence tested, the effect of flow incidence on the total pressure losses is less pronounced. Based on the shadowgraphs taken during the experiment, it’s believed that the large increase in losses at transonic conditions is due to strong shock/ boundary layer interaction that may lead to flow separation on the blade suction surface.     

Measurement of turbulent supersonic steam jet flow characteristics using TDLAS

Ejectors have no moving parts and are preferable to mechanical compressors in many applications, but ejectors typically have a relatively low efficiency. To aid in the ejector design process, thorough understanding of the turbulent mixing of multi-phase compressible jets is beneficial.This paper reports experimental results for Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) measurements derived from an axisymmetric supersonic steam jet apparatus.In this experimental work, a supersonic steam jet nozzle exit of a diameter 13.6 mm was surrounded by a low-speed flow of dry nitrogen. The TDLAS system was traversed through the flow at three different planes downstream from the ejector nozzle exit: 15, 20, and 30 mm distance. At each of the three planes, line-of-sight measurements were made with the laser passing through locations between 0 and 15 mm from the jet centreline.Through the analysis of the TDLAS data and application of the Abel inversion method, the radial distribution of the pressure, temperature, and the concentration of the water-vapour were obtained. The key findings are that it is possible to determine key physical parameters using experimental TDLAS measurements when combined with a suitable numerical optimization approach.     

收缩喷嘴内部流道型线对射流流场的影响

为研究收缩喷嘴内部流道形成对射流流场的气体动特性参数的影响，根据可压缩流体轴对称N-S方程，采用非结构网格和二阶精度的有限体积法，对不同内部流道形线的喷嘴自由射流进行数值模拟。亚声速射流采用RNGk-ε湍流模型，超声速射流采用S-A湍流模型，计算结果与实验较吻合。在亚声速流动中，收缩喷嘴的收缩角大小会影响其对射流的阻滞效果，内部流道形线设计为维多辛斯基曲线可以获得更好的流场动特性参数，有利于提高喷嘴的工作效率。在超声速流动中，喷嘴流道型线对出口膨胀波的角度与强弱影响较大，要根据射流的有效作用区域选择合适的喷嘴，才能使能量的损失最小。若要获得较佳的外部流场参数，优化喷嘴内部流道设计十分重要。     

A study on the flow with nonequilibrium condensation in a minimum length nozzle

As recognized previously, a minimum-length nozzle has the smallest possible throat-to-exit length that is still capable of maintaining uniform supersonic flow at the nozzle exit. In the present study, for the flow of moist air through a nearly minimum-length nozzle designed by the method of characteristics, the effects of nonequilibrium condensation on the uniformity of flow properties, the momentum efflux, and the flow distortion at the nozzle exit plane are discussed by experiment and numerical analysis of a third-order Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) finite difference scheme. The onset and zone of nonequilibrium condensation in a minimum-length nozzle are quite different from those of a general convergent-divergent supersonic nozzle. We know that the uniformity of flow properties at the nozzle exit with regard to the flow with nonequilibrium condensation in a minimum-length nozzle cannot be guaranteed. On the other hand, owing to the positions of the onset of condensation at the incident region of expansion waves from the sharp corner just downstream of the nozzle throat, the deceleration gradient and magnitude of heat released from the process of nonequilibrium condensation to the surrounding of ϕ₀=60% are greater than those of ϕ₀=70% in the case of T₀=290K. Furthermore, it has been determined that the decrease in efflux of momentum from the nozzle exit for the stagnation relative humidity of ϕ₀=70%(T₀=290K), which corresponds to the case with nonequilibrium condensation shock, is 6.8% smaller than that of isentropic expansion. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Do Hyung Lee Soon-Bum Kwon received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Kyungpook National University in 1974 and 1980, respectively, and his Ph.D. degree from Kyushu University in 1987. He is a Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Kyungpook National University. His research interests are compressible gas dynamics and nonequilibrium condensation.     

Experimental investigation of mixing-enhanced swirl flows

The experimental objective was to compare disintegration characteristics from the internal mixing pneumatic nozzles under the different operating conditions in terms of swirl angles. For this investigation, supplied air pressures and nozzle configuration ratios were fixed. This experimental comparison is of fundamental importance to the understanding and modeling of turbulent atomization because the axisymmetric swirling flows involve relatively complex interactions. For the measurement, four internal swirl mixing nozzles with axisymmetric holes at swirl angles of 15°, 30°, 45°, and 60° to the central axis were employed, which is responsible for the enhancement of mixing in pneumatic jets. To illustrate the swirl phenomena quantitatively, the distributions of mean velocities, turbulence intensities, and SMD (Sauter mean diameter, or D₃₂) variations with different configuration ratio were comparatively analyzed. It indicated that the atomization characteristics are performed well in the case of 30° of swirl angle, and that turbulence intensities are gradually degenerated with the increase of radial distances, showing a slight increment of SMD at downstream region. In particular, measurements showed that nozzle configuration is one of the significant geometrical parameters affecting the spray trajectories. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Jun Sang Park     

Characteristics of vertically injected buoyant jets of highly diluted propane

In coflow jets with the nozzle diameter of O (1 cm) and the fuel jet velocity of O (10 cm/s), the buoyancy induced by the density difference between the fuel and air influences the jet structure appreciably. The present study investigated the behavior of such a buoyant jet numerically and experimentally, especially when the fuel stream had higher density than air. When the fuel jet was composed of propane highly diluted with nitrogen, the fuel jet was decelerated and formed a stagnation region. Consequently, the fuel was carried downstream by the coflow having a circular cone shape. When the fuel was moderately diluted or as the jet velocity increased, numerical results showed the Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability along the mixing layer of the jet. When the fuel jet velocity was relatively high, the stagnation height increased nonlinearly with fuel jet velocity having the power of approximately 1.62. In the relatively high Reynolds number regime of Re > 80, the stagnation height can be correlated to Re^0.62Ri^−0.5, indicating the combined effects of buoyancy and jet momentum. As the Reynolds number becomes small, the stagnation height was affected by the streamwise diffusion due to fuel concentration gradient and by the wake behavior near the nozzle tip. Accordingly, the stagnation heights approach to none-zero values, which were found to be relatively insensitive to fuel dilution.     

Influence of nozzle exit tip thickness on the performance and flow field of jet pump

The influence of exit tip thickness of nozzle δ _e on the flow field and performance of a jet pump was studied numerically in this paper. It is found that δ _e has influence on the distribution of turbulence kinetic energy k. If δ _e is ignored, k takes the highest value but dissipates rapidly than that of nozzle with a certain tip thickness. δ _e also affect apparently the development of tip vortex, which will occur near the exit tip of nozzle. The bigger the δ _e is, the larger the vortex is. The tip vortex develops with the increase of flow rate ratio q. When q=1 and δ _e =0.6∼0.8mm, a small vortex will be found downstream the tip vortex. And a concomitant vortex happens down the tip vortex in the case of q=1 and δ _e =0.8mm. As q increases to 2, the downstream small vortex disappears and the concomitant vortex becomes bigger. It is also found that the tip vortex might interact with the possible backflow that formed in the throat tube and parts of suction chamber. The center of backflow was affect evidently by δ _e . With the increase of δ _e , the center of backflow under the same q will go downstream. When δ _e =0.4mm, the center of backflow goes farthest. Then, as the further increase of δ _e , the center of backflow will go back some distance. Although, δ _e has relatively great influence on the flow field within the jet pump, it exerts only a little impact on the performance of jet pump. When δ _e =0.2∼0.6mm, the jet pump possess better performance. In most case, it is reasonable to ignore the nozzle exit tip thickness in performance prediction for the purpose of simplicity. This paper was presented at the 9^th Asian International Conference on Fluid Machinery (AICFM9), Jeju, Korea, October 16–19, 2007.     

An experimental study on the effect of square grooves on decay characteristics of a supersonic jet from a circular nozzle

In this experimental work, the effect of square grooves on the structure of a supersonic jet emanating from a circular nozzle has been investigated at three different nozzle inlet total pressures i.e 360 kPa, 550 kPa and 720 kPa. The nominal exit Mach number is 1.8. A new empirical relation for predicting the supersonic core length for grooved nozzle has been suggested. Further, a new parameter “groove effectiveness” has also been suggested to quantify the effect of the groove by using the total pressure data in the supersonic core length. Experimental results suggest that at higher nozzle inlet total pressure, the groove effectiveness plays a minor role. From the jet centreline total pressure data, supersonic core length, the locations at which 50 % and 90 % decay occurs have been obtained. It has been observed that higher groove effectiveness is associated with smaller values of supersonic core length, L_50% and L_90%. Schlieren images of the jet structure shows unsymmetrical shock pattern of jets emanating from a single grooved nozzle.     

Comparison of turbulence models in shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction

This paper presents a comparative study of a fully coupled, upwind, compressible Navier-Stokes code with three two-equation models and the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model in predicting transonic/supersonic flow. Thek - ε turbulence model of Abe performed well in predicting the pressure distributions and the velocity profiles near the flow separation over the axisymmetric bump, even though there were some discrepancies with the experimental data in the shear-stress distributions. Additionally, it is noted that this model hasy* in damping functions instead of y⁺. The turbulence model of Abe and Wilcox showed better agreements in skin friction coefficient distribution with the experimental data than the other models did for a supersonic compression ramp problem. Wilcox’ s model seems to be more reliable than the other models in terms of numerical stability. The two-equation models revealed that the redevelopment of the boundary layer was somewhat slow downstream of the reattachment portion.     

Investigation of turbulent spray disintegration characteristics depending on the nozzle configuration

The experimental measurements were carried out to examine turbulent disintegration characteristics ejecting from a counter-flowing internal mixing pneumatic nozzle under variable conditions of swirl angles and air pressures. The air injection pressure was varied from 60 kPa to 180 kPa and four counter-flowing internal mixing nozzles with axi-symmetric tangential-drilled holes at swirl angle of 15°, 30°, 45°, and 60° to the central axis have been specially designed. The experimental results were quantitatively analyzed, focusing mainly on the comparison of turbulent atomization characteristics issuing from an internal mixing swirl nozzle. To illustrate the swirl phenomena, the distributions of mean velocities, turbulence intensities, volume flux, and SMD (Sauter Mean Diameter, or D₃₂) were comparatively analyzed.     

Measurement and Characterization of “Resonance Friction” at High Sliding Speeds in a Model Automotive Wet Clutch

The friction forces between various lubricated “friction materials” and sapphire disks were measured using a new “high-speed” rotating disk attachment to the surface forces apparatus (SFA). Two different clutch lubricants and two different friction materials were tested at sliding speeds and normal loads from 5 to 25 m/s, and 0.2 to 1 N (nominal pressures ~1 MPa), respectively. The results show that “resonance friction”—characterized by large amplitude oscillatory (i.e., sinusoidal) vibrations, also known as shudder or chatter—dominates dynamical considerations at high sliding speed, replacing the smooth sliding or low-amplitude stick–slip that is characteristic of low speed/low load sliding. The characteristic (rotational) speeds or frequencies at which resonance friction occurs depend only on the coupled/uncoupled mechanical resonance frequencies of the loading and friction-sensing mechanisms. In contrast, the intensity of and time to enter/exit shudder depends strongly on the lubricating oil and, to a lesser extent, on the friction material. Physical–chemical analyses of the friction materials before and after testing showed that the samples undergo primarily structural rather than chemical changes. Our results provide new fundamental insights into the resonance friction phenomenon and suggest means for its control.     

Analysis of two dimensional and three dimensional supersonic turbulence flow around tandem cavities

The supersonic flows around tandem cavities were investigated by two-dimensional and three-dimensional numerical simulations using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equation with thek-ω turbulence model. The flow around a cavity is characterized as unsteady flow because of the formation and dissipation of vortices due to the interaction between the freestream shear layer and cavity internal flow, the generation of shock and expansion waves, and the acoustic effect transmitted from wake flow to upstream. The upwind TVD scheme based on the flux vector split with van Leer’s limiter was used as the numerical method. Numerical calculations were performed by the parallel processing with time discretizations carried out by the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method. The aspect ratios of cavities are 3 for the first cavity and 1 for the second cavity. The ratio of cavity interval to depth is 1. The ratio of cavity width to depth is 1 in the case of three dimensional flow. The Mach number and the Reynolds number were 1.5 and 4.5 × 10⁵, respectively. The characteristics of the dominant frequency between twodimensional and three-dimensional flows were compared, and the characteristics of the second cavity flow due to the first cavity flow was analyzed. Both two dimensional and three dimensional flow oscillations were in the ‘shear layer mode’, which is based on the feedback mechanism of Rossiter’s formula. However, three dimensional flow was much less turbulent than two dimensional flow, depending on whether it could inflow and outflow laterally. The dominant frequencies of the two dimensional flow and three dimensional flows coincided with Rossiter’s 2nd mode frequency. The another dominant frequency of the three dimensional flow corresponded to Rossiter’s 1st mode frequency.     

Anomalous Low Friction Under Boundary Lubrication of Steel Surfaces by Polyols

We present here anomalous low friction obtained with highly polished steel on steel hard contact lubricated by glycerol under severe mixed and boundary regimes (λ ratio below 1). We investigated the effects of contact pressure, sliding speed, and temperature on friction coefficient and electrical contact resistance. The mechanism of low friction (typically below 0.02) is thought to have two origins: first a contribution of an ultrathin EHL film of glycerol providing easy shear under pressure, second the chemical degradation of glycerol inside the contact when more severe conditions are attained, generating a nanometer-thick film containing shear-induced water molecules. This new mechanism, called “H-bond Network model”, is completely different from the well-accepted “Monolayer” model working with polar molecules containing long aliphatic chains. Moreover, we show outstanding superlubricity (friction coefficient below 0.01) of steel surfaces directly lubricated by a solution of myo-inositol (also called vitamin Bh) in glycerol at ambient temperature (25 °C) and high contact pressure (0.8 GPa) in the absence of any long chain polar molecules. Mechanism is still unknown but could be associated with friction-induced dissociation of inositol and H-bond interactions network of water-like species with steel surface.     

Experimental study of frost growth on a horizontal cold surface under forced convection

Frost formation on a horizontal copper surface under low air temperature and forced convection conditions is investigated experimentally. Both the frost crystals pattern and the frost layer thickness formed on the cold plate are compared under different experimental conditions. The environmental variables considered in this study include the ambient temperature (T _∞ ), air relative humidity (φ), and velocity (v), as well as the cold surface temperature (Tw). The tested ranges are −5≤T _∞ ≤5 °C, 50%≤ φ≤80%, 2.2≤v≤8.0 m/s, −16.8≤T _w ≤−25.5 °C. The experimental results show the cold surface temperature and the air relative humidity have obvious effects on the frost growth: the frost layer thickness increases strongly with the decreasing cold surface temperature and increasing air relative humidity. The air temperature and air velocity or Reynolds number are also important factors affecting the frost crystals’ growth and thickness. With the increase of the air temperature and velocity, the frost crystals become denser, and the frost layer thickness become thicker, but this trend becomes weaker under higher air temperature and velocity.     

A Further Discussion on Trends in the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Technology

This paper is a supplement to “Trends in the Development of Advanced Manufacturing Technology” (Yang and Wu in Chin. J. Mech. Eng., 39: 73, 2003) but delves deeper into it. It first points out the strategic status of manufacturing industry in state development. Then, a detailed analysis is given on the features and trends in the development of advanced manufacturing technology in a total of 12 points from three aspects: “precision,” “extreme,” and “culture” from the aspect of the product itself; “green,” “rapidness,” “saving,” and “efficiency” during the manufacturing process; and “digit,” “auto,” “integration,” “networking,” and “intelligence” in view of the manufacturing method. In addition, it emphasizes that all the above aspects should be based on two base points: “manufacture” and “machinery.” Finally, it puts forth the guiding ideologies for the development of advanced manufacturing technology and the aspects China should give priority to in development, while stressing on the principles of independence, innovation and “human orientation.”     

Design and evaluation of high-pressure nozzle assembly for laser cutting of thick carbon steel

Laser cutting of carbon steel is extensively used across a range of industries, due to its advantage of high speed, low kerf and high quality. Currently, a 1-kW carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser with its subsonic nozzle assembly can be used only to cut steel plates up to around 10 mm. This paper aims to design and evaluate a high-pressure supersonic laser cutting nozzle assembly, which can enable a 1-kW CO₂ laser to cut steel of up to 50 mm thickness. Basic gas dynamic and compressible flow equations were used to design the supersonic nozzle assembly. The flow of the high-pressure gas jet inside the nozzle assembly was investigated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and the structural integrity of the high-pressure nozzle assembly was ensured using finite element analysis (FEA). The gas flow pattern at the exit of the nozzle assembly was computed and compared with the experimental observation made through a shadowgraph technique. Laser cutting experiments were performed with the developed supersonic nozzle assembly to demonstrate cutting of 50-mm-thick low carbon steel with 1-kW CO₂ laser.     

Fast algorithm of detection of boundary points in images

A method of detecting boundary points in brightness images, based on subpixel calculation of the brightness difference, is proposed. In a fragment 4×4 pixels in size, this method allows calculating 12 directions of the jump in brightness; the algorithm complexity is ∼34N atomic operations. The method considered is compared with available methods of detection of boundary points in the image. The algorithm proposed is demonstrated to be more stable to the “salt and pepper” noise, ensures more stable determination of the brightness jump direction, and provides a more intense response to the signal. An application of the method is noted.