<div>The quiet-flow capabilities of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel have been well established in the last decade, but a full characterization of the nozzle flow is an ongoing project. Pitot probes outtted with Kulite pressure transducers were used to further the investigation of the tunnel's flowfield. Noise levels were calculated by integrating the power spectral densities of the measured pitot pressure fluctuations, and experiments were performed to investigate several aspects of the flow.</div><div><br></div><div><div>First, the temperature distribution along the nozzle was varied to determine if heating had an effect on the stability of the laminar nozzle-wall boundary layer. Runs made with initial stagnation pressures slightly above the maximum quiet pressure determined that additional nozzle-wall heating did not have an effect on the amount of runtime which experienced quiet flow. In addition, pitot-probe measurements were taken at various locations to better determine the axial dependence of the noise levels. Experiments were also performed using pitot probes of varying forward-facing diameters to determine the effects of probe geometry on the measured fluctuations. The results were found to differ signicantly from simulations and from a previous set of experimental data, but a likely cause of the discrepancies was not found. A pitot probe mounted on the base of a cone confirmed that the aft end of a model does experience quiet flow. Finally, characterization of the flowfield was attempted when the tunnel is run using helium. The measured pressures for these experiments have a signicant level of uncertainty because the sensor calibration changes as helium diffuses across the diaphragm. Nevertheless, the measurements suggest that there may be periods of uniform flow, although these periods remain unstable and unsteady.</div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/7498682 |
| Date | 03 January 2019 |
| Creators | Kathryn A. Gray (5930645) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/Flowfi_eld_Characterization_of_the_Boeing_AFOSR_Mach-6_Quiet_Tunnel/7498682 |
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