Title: Tandem nozzle supersonic wind tunnel design

Authors: Jie Wu; Rolf Radespiel

Addresses: Institute of Fluid Mechanics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Herman-Blenk-Str. 37, 38108 Braunschweig, Germany ' Institute of Fluid Mechanics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Herman-Blenk-Str. 37, 38108 Braunschweig, Germany

Abstract: A new tandem nozzle supersonic wind tunnel was designed for Technische Universität Braunschweig. Based on the infrastructure of the existing M = 6 Ludwieg tube in Braunschweig (HLB), two nozzles in tandem configuration are designed to get supersonic flow with a similar test section size. Preliminary design trades are presented based on one-dimensional flow analysis. Using alternate methods, contours of the second nozzle are designed. Numerical optimisations of the second nozzle are accomplished using the DLR TAU-Code, by which reliable estimates of flow uniformity in the test section are obtained. A settling chamber with suitable flow straighteners is also employed. The flow analysis determines a reasonable configuration of the overall tandem nozzle wind tunnel and yields realistic estimates of flow uniformity in the test section. In conclusion the present work provides quantitative design trades, detailed flow quality and performance data for cost-efficient extensions of hypersonic Ludwieg tubes into the supersonic flow range.

Keywords: wind tunnel design; numerical simulation; nozzle design; tandem nozzle; supersonic flow.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESMS.2013.052369

International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation, 2013 Vol.5 No.1/2/3, pp.8 - 18

Published online: 29 Aug 2014 *

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