Effect of humidity on transonic flow

Huang, J.C., Gault, R.I., Benard, E. and Raghunathan, S. (2008) Effect of humidity on transonic flow. Journal of Aircraft, 45(6), pp. 2092-2099.

Abstract

An experimental investigation of the effects of humidity-induced condensation on shock/boundary-layer interaction has been conducted in a transonic wind-tunnel test. The test geometry considered was a wall-mounted bump model inserted in the test section of the wind tunnel. The formation of a λ-shape condensation shock wave was shown from schlieren visualization and resulted in a forward movement of the shock wave, reduced shock wave strength, and reduced separation. Empirical correlations of the shock wave strength and humidity/dew point temperature were established. For humidity levels below 0.15 or a dew point temperature of 268 K, the effect of humidity was negligible. The unsteady pressure measurements showed that if a condensation shock wave formed and interacted with a main shock wave, the flow becomes unsteady with periodic flow oscillations occurring at 720 Hz.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Benard, Dr Emmanuel
• Authors: Huang, J.C., Gault, R.I., Benard, E., and Raghunathan, S.
• Subjects: T Technology > TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Autonomous Systems and Connectivity
• Research Group: Experimental Aerodynamics and Fluid Mechanics
• Journal Name: Journal of Aircraft
• Publisher: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• ISSN: 0021-8669
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2008 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
• First Published: First published in Journal of Aircraft 45(6):2092-2100
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced with permission of the publisher