Sina Afkhami

This research investigates the process of starting and breakdown of second throat diffuser during high-altitude test of conical nozzle with a high expansion ratio. The subscale experimental setup includes a conical nozzle with an expansion ratio of 53, plus a second throat diffuser with a contraction ratio of 1.85, using compressed air as the working fluid. Numerical simulation has been employed to identify the flow physics during the unsteady process of diffuser startup and breakdown. According to the results, the starting process is divided into three distinct stages. In the first stage, the exhausted flow from the nozzle enters the vacuum chamber, leading to an increase in vacuum chamber pressure. The second stage, corresponding to the period before full flow establishment in the conical nozzle, exhibits a relatively constant slope. In the final stage, associated with the transition from over-expanded to under-expanded states, the slope of the rate of evacuation development descends. Next, the vacuum degradation in termination process has been analyzed, and it has been found to include three stages: high slope, middle slope, and low slope. The flow physics during the start process, similar to the results observed in other conical nozzles, exhibits only a Mach reflection structure. However, during the termination process, the flow physics involve a combination of both structures, including Mach reflection and Cap Shock. The results indicate that during the start, an internal shock only interacts with the separation shock, and no special change occurs in the Mach reflection structure. In contrast, during the termination process, unlike what has been reported in previous studies on conical nozzles, the structure of cap shock waves and restricted shock separation patterns are also observed. Another distinction between the starting and termination processes is related to the pressure distribution in the diffuser wall. The wall pressure at the diffuser inlet during the termination process has been reported to be 90% higher than during the starting process.

This study presents a combined numerical and experimental investigation of the starting process of a second throat diffuser during ground testing of a thrust-optimized parabolic (TOP). In this investigation, compressed air has been utilized as the operating fluid in a subscale experimental setup. The study examines three scenarios with varying nozzle pressure profile, including two cases of start and one case of un-start. Additionally, this study employs numerical simulations to identify and analyze the physical phenomena that occur at each stage of the start and un-start processes in these cases. The results for the case started at a relatively low nozzle pressure profile (24.5 bar max) indicate that the vacuum generation process during high-altitude testing of TOP nozzles can be broken down into five stages. The first stage involves an increase in pressure within the vacuum chamber during the early moments of the starting process. In the second stage, vacuum generation occurs gradually as the nozzle operates under free shock separation (FSS). This is followed with the reappearance of small fluctuations in the vacuum chamber pressure due to transition from the FSS to restricted shock separation (RSS) flow pattern (third stage). The fourth stage begins with the predominance of the shock separation and recirculation (SSR) flow pattern inside the nozzle, resulting in gradual vacuum generation. This stage terminates upon transformation of the cap shock structure into a regular reflection structure. In the final stage of vacuum generation, the evacuation rate is almost half of the fourth stage. This is attributed to the establishment of expanded and under-expanded conditions, as well as the impingement of the nozzle outflow jet with the wall and the onset of start conditions. Next, the results of vacuum generation have been studied at higher nozzle pressures profile (34 bar max). The results indicate that increasing the nozzle pressure rate not only reduced the starting time by 23%, but also significantly reduced the pressure fluctuations in the evacuation process. In fact, at higher nozzle pressure, the third stage is almost eliminated. In the un-started case, where the nozzle pressure is lower than the minimum starting pressure, fluctuations occur in the vacuum chamber pressure due to the dynamics of the diffuser inlet recirculation bubble and the transition of the nozzle separation pattern from RSS to SSR and vice versa.