On the large-scale vortices in an L/D = 2.30 serpentine diffuser with internal bump

Abstract

In this paper, the generation and spatial evolution of large-scale vortices in an ultra-compact serpentine diffuser (L/D = 2.30) featuring an integrated internal bump are experimentally and numerically investigated. Due to reduction of the local flow area caused by the internal bump, a favorable streamwise pressure gradient is induced first and then followed by an adverse one. Concurrently, a high-pressure region exists on the side of the diffuser as it contracts, yielding a sideward circumferential pressure gradient and then an inward one. Such circumferential pressure gradients divert the boundary layer on the windward side of the internal bump to the side and induce a spanwise U-shaped vortex on the leeward side, which constrains the development of flow separation in this region. The circumferential pressure gradients further induce two pairs of streamwise vortices located at the top and bottom of the diffuser, respectively. These vortex pairs entrain the low-energy fluids and transport them to the aerodynamic interface plane (AIP), resulting in two pairs of low-total-pressure regions and swirling flows. Moreover, in the experimentally studied range of the exit Mach number MAIP from 0.293 to 0.546, the distributions of low-total-pressure regions and swirl angles at the AIP exhibit a small variation, indicating that the internal flow field structures are insensitive to MAIP.