Transient Shock Waves in Supersonic Internal Flow

When high-pressure gas is exhausted through nozzle exit to the atmosphere, expanded supersonic jet is formed with the Mach disk at a specific condition. In two-dimensional supersonic jets, the hysteresis phenomenon of the reflected shock waves is found to occur under quasi-steady flow conditions. Transitional pressure ratio between the regular reflection and Mach reflection in the jet is affected by this phenomenon. In the present study, experiments are carried out on internal flow in a supersonic nozzle to clarify the hysteresis phenomena for the shock waves and to discuss its interdependence on the rate of the change of pressure ratio with time. Flow visualization is carried out separately on the straight and divergent channels downstream of the nozzle throat section. The influence that the hysteresis phenomena have on the location of shock wave in a supersonic nozzle is also investigated experimentally.