Boundary-layer analysis of subsonic inlet diffuser geometries for engines nacelles

Theoretical Mach number distributions and boundary-layer parameters are presented for subsonic nacelle inlet diffuser geometries with length to exit diameter ratios ranging from 0.4 to 1.6 and diffuser exit area to throat area ratios ranging from 1.1 to 2.0. The major portion of the study was done with a cubic diffuser contour with the inflection point at the midpoint of the diffuser, a diffuser throat Mach number of 0.6, and a free-stream Mach number of 0.12. Calculations were performed at both model (diffuser exit diameter, 30.5 cm) and full-scale (diffuser exit diameter, 183 cm) sizes. Separation limits were defined by establishing a separation boundary on plots of diffuser area ratio as a function of diffuser length to diameter ratio. The effects of diffuser contour, inlet lip geometry, and throat Mach number on the boundary-layer characteristics are illustrated. The major results of the study indicate that the separation boundary is shifted to greater area ratios by (1) increasing the diffuser length, (2) increasing the scale of the diffuser and, (3) moving the inflection point of the diffuser contour to or ahead of the midpoint of the diffuser

Comparison of experimental and theoretical boundary-layer separation for inlets at incidence angle at low-speed conditions

Comparisons between experimental and theoretical Mach number distributions and separation locations are presented for the internal surfaces of four different subsonic inlet geometries with exit diameters of 13.97 centimeters. The free stream Mach number was held constant at 0.127, the one-dimensional throat Mach number ranged from 0.49 to 0.71, and the incidence angle ranged from 0 deg to 50 deg. Generally good agreement was found between the theoretical and experimental surface Mach number distributions as long as no flow separation existed. At high incidence angles, where separation was obvious in the experimental data, the theory predicted separation on the lip. At lower incidence angles, the theoretical results indicated diffuser separation which was not obvious from the experimental surface Mach number distributions. As incidence angle was varied from 0 deg to 50 deg, the predicted separation location shifted from the diffuser region to the inlet highlight. Relatively small total pressure losses were obtained when the predicted separation location was greater than 0.6 of the distance between the highlight and the diffuser exit

MHD performance demonstration experiment, October 1, 1080-September 30, 1981

The Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) has been under contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) since December 1973 to conduct a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) High Performance Demonstration Experiment (HPDE). The objective of this experimental research is to demonstrate the attainment of MHD performance on a sufficiently large scale to verify that projected commercial MHD objectives are possible. This report describes the testing of the system under power-producing conditions during the period from October 1, 1980 to September 30, 1981. Experimental results have been obtained with the channel configured in the Faraday mode. Test conditions were selected to produce low supersonic velocity along the entire channel length. Tests have been conducted at magnetic fields up to 4.1 Tesla (T) (70% of design). Up to 30.5 MW of power has been produced to date (60% of design) for an enthalpy extraction of approximately 11%. The high Hall voltage transient, observed during the previous series of tests has been reduced. The reduction is mostly probably due to the fuel and seed being introduced simultaneously. The replacement of the ATJ graphite caps on the electrode walls with pyrolytic graphite caps has resulted in significantly higher surface temperature. As a result, the voltage drop is some 60% of the cold wall voltage drop during the previous series of tests. However, the absolute value of the present voltage drop is still greater than the original design predictions. Test results indicate, however, that the overall enthalpy extraction objective can be achieved