Research and realization on the control strategies of blow-down supersonic wind tunnel

Programs in mechanical and aeronautical engineering commonly include courses in compressible fluid flow. As such, learning can be greatly enhanced if theory is taught in conjunction with hands on experimentation. While supersonic wind tunnels are not uncommon at many universities, such facilities are generally of the blow down configuration. Consequently, run time is very short and ear protection is required during operation, potentially hindering instruction. Furthermore, blow down configurations are typically expensive and large. This article presents the design and manufacture of a continuous, indraft, miniature supersonic wind tunnel. The tunnel was designed for a nominal test section Mach number of 2; validation indicated a Mach number of 1.96 was achieved. Vacuum was provided by a regenerative blower. The facility is portable and quiet; measurements indicated that the sound level around the tunnel when operational was less than 81 dB (compared to 119dB generated by the department’s blow down supersonic wind tunnel).

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CVL application for supersonic wind tunnel of blow-down type

10.2514/6.1994-2574 ◽

1994 ◽

Author(s):

T. Fujimoto ◽

S. Sawaguchi ◽

K. Hanawa

Keyword(s):

Wind Tunnel ◽

Supersonic Wind Tunnel ◽

Blow Down

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Investigation of Transient Shock Wave in Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.232.228 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 232 ◽

pp. 228-233

Author(s):

Behnam Ghadimi ◽

Mojtaba Dehghan Manshadi ◽

Mehrdad Bazazzadeh

Keyword(s):

Shock Wave ◽

Mach Number ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Pressure Ratio ◽

Wind Tunnels ◽

Supersonic Wind Tunnel ◽

Blow Down ◽

Fortran Code ◽

Nozzle Contour ◽

Fluent Software

Wind tunnels are the experimental apparatuses which provide an airstream flowing under controlled conditions so that interesting items in aerospace engineering such as pressure and velocity can be tested. In this work, Shock wave passes through the intermittent blow-down wind tunnel at Mach=2,3,4 has been investigated. The shape of the nozzle contour for a given Mach number was determined using the method of characteristics. For this purpose MATLAB code was developed and this code was verified with Osher’s and AUSM methods, FORTRAN code and FLUENT software was used for these two methods, respectively. Dimensions of different parts of wind tunnel are determined and minimum pressure ratio for the starting condition has been founded using FLUENT software. Good agreement was considered compared with the data from eleven tunnels over their range of Mach number.

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The Ludwieg Pressure-Tube Supersonic Wind Tunnel

Aeronautical Quarterly ◽

10.1017/s0001925900002729 ◽

1963 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 143-157 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

A. J. Cable ◽

R. N. Cox

Keyword(s):

Mach Number ◽

Wind Tunnel ◽

Nozzle Exit ◽

High Speed ◽

Layer Growth ◽

Stagnation Pressure ◽

Pressure Tube ◽

Rarefaction Waves ◽

Supersonic Wind Tunnel ◽

Blow Down

SummaryA description is given of a supersonic pressure-tube wind tunnel which has been constructed at A.R.D.E. This is a blow-down tunnel which uses as a reservoir a long tube filled with gas under pressure. A quasi-steady supersonic flow is achieved by expanding in a convergent-divergent nozzle the subsonic flow behind rarefaction waves which propagate down the tube when a diaphragm at the nozzle exit is burst. The theory of the operation of the tunnel is given and calculations are made of the boundary-layer growth along the tube. Pressure-time records were obtained in the tube, and a high speed camera was used to obtain pictures of the flow round a model. Measurements also included a pitot-tube traverse of the nozzle exit, and the Mach number distribution was determined from the ratio of the pitot to the stagnation pressure. Tests showed that, as predicted, a constant stagnation pressure was obtained ahead of the nozzle, and it is considered that a tunnel of this type would be a cheap and simple way of obtaining an intermittent tunnel with adequate running time for many types of test, and capable of operating at a Reynolds number of more than 107 per inch at a Mach number of about 3·5.

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