Methods of the wall interference reduction at low supersonic velocities in wind tunnels

Abstract

The paper describes the research aimed at reducing wall interference in wind tunnels at low supersonic velocities. The results of such wind tunnel tests are often affected by wave perturbations generated by the model and reflected from the test section walls. This research describes the methods that can effectively reduce the wave reflection from the wall. A numerical investigation is presented that includes a novel boundary condition that eliminates disadvantages of previously considered methods. The numerical study was conducted in the frame of electronic wind tunnel concept and ANSYS CFX software. The numerical investigation showed that the effect of shock wave reflection could be reduced using a new type of boundary condition that is a combination of perforated walls and a controlled boundary layer.