An experimental investigation of the flow dynamics of streamwise vortices of various strengths interacting with a supersonic jet

Abstract

The results of an experimental study involving the introduction of streamwise vorticity into a supersonic jet are presented. Both streamwise and cross stream PIV measurements of a baseline jet and three vortex generator configurations of varied penetration were acquired in the overexpanded, ideally expanded, and underexpanded regimes. Streamwise vortex pairs were shown to persist no further than two diameters downstream independent of initial magnitude. Integration of the modulus of streamwise vorticity was shown to better correlate with secondary flow field modifications than maximum values. Reductions in shock cell spacing and downstream turbulence, and increases in initial spread rate and upstream integrated turbulence were correlated with increases in streamwise vorticity for all operating conditions. Streamwise vorticity was shown to achieve opposite effects on shock strength in the over/under expanded regimes due to introduction of secondary shock structures in the underexpanded case. Additionally, limited effect on potential core length was quantified.