Design and development of a wind tunnel for the investigation of turbulent compressible mixing layers

This thesis documents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a new intermittent-blowdown compressible shear layer wind tunnel built at the Gas Dynamics Laboratory (GDL) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The construction of this facility was motivated by the need for high-quality benchmark experimental data of the compressible mixing layer phenomenon for use in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) validation. This need has arisen because of improved computational capability and the practicality of high-resolution flow simulation techniques of the turbulent compressible mixing layer flowfield by means such as large-eddy simulations (LES) and direct numerical simulations (DNS), and the maturation of high-resolution laser-based flow diagnostic techniques such as stereo particle image velocimetry (SPIV). The newly developed facility is characterized by its two-stream design (a sonic/supersonic primary stream and a subsonic secondary stream), which are separated by a stainless steel splitter plate that ends coincident with the start of the mixing layer test section. A major design emphasis was placed on unobstructed optical access to the test section, where the mixing layer development occurs and where the accurate and complete measurement of the flowfield is critical. The design of the nozzles and the test section divergence mechanism was performed iteratively through direct input from CFD and finite element analysis (FEA) simulation results. Complete dimensioning and design specifications of the new facility and full assembly will be made available to the academic and technical communities via an online catalog of fully-dimensioned engineering drawings for the as-built design. Experimental qualification of the newly-built wind tunnel was conducted in order to assess the suitability of the wind tunnel as a testbed for the compressible shear layer flowfield, and to produce preliminary data for flowfield characterization.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Aerospace Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2017

Author dc:creator

• Lee, Gyu Sub S

Contributors dc:contributor

• Elliott, Gregory S.
• Dutton, Jonathan C

• Wind tunnel
• Compressible flow
• Shear layer
• Mixing layer
• Experimental fluid mechanics
• Supersonic flow

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Gyu Sub Lee

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/98393

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/98393