Performance Improvement of an Ejector-Diffuser System Using Shock Generator

Abstract

Supersonic ejectors are simple mechanical components, which generally perform mixing and recompression of two fluid streams. Ejectors have found many applications in engineering. In aerospace engineering, they are used for high altitude testing (HAT) of a propulsion system by reducing the pressure of a test chamber. It is composed of three major sections: a vacuum test chamber, a propulsive nozzle, and a supersonic exhaust diffuser (SED). This paper aims at the improvement in HAT facility by focusing attention on the vertical firing rocket test stand with shock generators. Shock generators are mounted inside the SED for improving the pressure recovery. The results clearly showed that the performance of the ejector-diffuser system was improved with the addition of shock generators. The improvement comes in the form of reduction of the starting pressure ratio and the vertical height of test stand. It is also shown that shock generators are useful in reducing the total pressure loss in the SED.