Use of swirl for flow control in propulsion nozzles

Abstract

In certain off-design conditions it is desirable to vary the effective area of turbofan propulsion nozzles, e.g., to aid component matching or to reduce fan noise on approach. It has been suggested that the mass flux reductions associated with swirl could be used to achieve such variations. This paper addresses the questions of whether swirl can achieve the required mass flux reductions and whether this can be done with minimal thrust losses. A quasicylindrical theory is used to analyze the swirling flow, and comparisons are made with variablearea nozzles for specific case studies. For a low-specific thrust engine of high bypass ratio (BPR = 12) the required fan nozzle mass flux reduction cannot be achieved using swirl, and in any case, swirl gives a far faster rate of decay of thrust with fan nozzle mass flux than does a variable-area nozzle. For a ducted fan of BPR -4, a 10% reduction in core nozzle mass flux can be achieved with swirl for slightly less thrust loss than with a variable-area nozzle. The swirl profile, however, needs to be carefully optimized.