Numerical Analysis of Flow through a Hole for Modeling of Wind Tunnel Porous Wall

Abstract

To model porous walls used in transonic wind tunnels, flow through a hole is investigated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). First, we analyze the relation between flow rate and differential pressure across the hole. At low differential pressures, such as for wind tunnel porous walls, the flow rate is found to increase linearly with differential pressure. We therefore propose a new model based on a linear relationship between flow rate and differential pressure. The effects of hole shape and boundary layer conditions near the hole are then investigated. In the outflow case (i.e., wind tunnel to plenum chamber), the flow rate increases as the ratio of hole depth to diameter becomes large due to variation of the flow separation area at the hole exit. Boundary layer thickness also affects the flow field: when the ratio of boundary layer thickness to hole diameter becomes small, the flow rate decreases, because the flow along wind tunnel side wall interacts more strongly with the flow through the hole.