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Schulich School of Engineering

Assessment of Turbulence Modelling for Compressibility Effects in Ejector Ramjet Applications

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study is presented to assess the k−ω SST turbulence model’s accuracy in representing compressibility effects for a confined supersonic jet, a key component of the Atlantis Intake System ejector ramjet. The third-party OpenFOAM compressible flow solver, pimpleCentralFOAM, is used to simulate a Mach 1.25 axisymmetric jet discharging inside a mixing tube and is compared against PIV data. CFD results were found to over-predict the jet core length, mixing layer growth rate, and Reynolds shear stresses. Compressibility corrections were applied to the turbulence model through closures for dilatation dissipation (DD), pressure dilatation (PD), and a combination of both effects (CD). All models improved agreement to experimental data, with the CD model displaying the most accurate representation of compressibility effects through suppression of mixing layer growth, turbulent kinetic energy and maximum Reynolds shear stresses. The corrections did not improve the jet core length. For application to the AIS ejector design, the CD model predicted an increased length for the mixing tube designs through a delayed rise in stagnation pressure. CD model performance was also assessed at varied inlet conditions and confirmed a suppressed jet spreading rate with increasing convective Mach number.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science (MSc)
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Engineering – Mechanical & Manufacturing
Grantor
Schulich School of Engineering
Year dc:date.issued
2025

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • McFadden, Andrew
Advisors dc:contributor.advisor
  • Johansen, Craig
  • Martinuzzi, Robert
Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Ke, Du (Duke)

Subjects

dc:subject × 6

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/121093

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Calgary
Base URL
ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

McFadden, Andrew. Assessment of Turbulence Modelling for Compressibility Effects in Ejector Ramjet Applications. Schulich School of Engineering, 2025. https://hdl.handle.net/1880/121093