Acoustic Phenomena from Correctly Expanded Supersonic Jet Impinging on Inclined Plate

PAYLOAD vibration due to acoustic waves from the exhaust plume is a significant problem during the liftoff of a launch vehicle. These acoustic waves are considered to be caused by jet impingement on the ground or on the flame deflector at the launch pad, as well as being from the free jet region. The ground slope or flame deflector profiles are therefore considered to affect the intensity and characteristics of this acoustic phenomenon, but design principles to suppress acoustic wave generation have not yet been established, because the generation mechanisms of the acoustic waves from the jet impingement have not been sufficiently clarified. Therefore, this study investigates the acoustic phenomena from a correctly expanded supersonic jet impinging on an inclined flat plate, through experiments conducted using a jet facility. The flow field of a supersonic jet impinging on a solid surface has been examined in many previous studies. For example, the fundamental flow structure was described by Donaldson and Snedecker [1]. From their experiments using an underexpanded jet impinging on a perpendicular or inclined plate at various angles, the flow structure was explained as being composed of three regions with different flow regimes: the free jet, impingement, and wall jet regions. The free jet region is minimally affected by the jet impingement, and its flow structure is similar to that of a free jet, as regard the potential core and supersonic shear layers. Next, the jet impinges on the plate, yielding a recirculation flow in the impingement region while, finally, the jet flows along the plate surface in the wall jet region. Carling and Hunt [2] experimentally discussed the flow field of a correctly expanded jet impinging on a perpendicular plate, and observed a series of expansion, recompression, and, in some cases, shock waves on the plate surface. As for an underexpanded jet impinging on an inclined plate, complicated shock structure in the impingement regionwas observed in the experiments of Lamont and Hunt [3], and in the calculations of Kim and Chang [4]. This structure is composed of plate shocks (i.e., standoff shocks) with additional tail shocks around the plate shocks. Nakai et al. [5] experimentally classified this structure into four types under various plate angle, nozzle–plate distance, and pressure ratio conditions. Moreover, a detailed numerical description of this shock structure was given by McIlroy and Fujii [6]. As for the investigation of the related acoustic phenomena, most previous studies have focused on discrete tone noise. The acoustic characteristics and the related perpendicular jet impingement flow phenomena were discussed in experimental studies (e.g., [7,8]) and recent numerical works (e.g., [9,10]), while, also, Risborg and Soria [11] discussed the acoustic feedback loop of an underexpanded jet impinging on an inclined plate by visualizing acoustic waves. As for studies on the acoustic phenomena from a correctly expanded supersonic jet impinging on an inclined plate, the subject that is examined in the present study, several numerical reports can be found, such as [12–14]. These studies were conducted to investigate the acoustic phenomena during the liftoff of a launch vehicle, and also discussed the acoustic and flow fields, which contain complex shock structures in the impingement region. In particular, the results of these studies revealed that there exist two types of acoustic waves: the Mach waves from the supersonic turbulent wall jet, and the acoustic waves propagating in an approximately perpendicular direction to the plate. The acoustic field under various impingement conditions was also calculated by Nonomura et al. [14] and Honda et al. [15] but, on the other hand, only [16] can be found as an experimental study of these phenomena. They measured noise from Mj 1.5 correctly expanded jets impinging on inclined plates at two fixed locations, mainly focusing on the noise environment of an aircraft carrier deck. They successfully revealed the influence of the nozzle–plate distance and the jet temperature on the sound pressure level (SPL), whereas they also noted that further investigations, such as spatial distribution of SPL, localization of the source region, and optical measurements, may be useful to fully characterize the acoustic and flow properties. As described above, these acoustic phenomena have been investigated numerically in detail, but discussion based on experimental data is currently lacking. Detailed experimental results are indispensable to a discussion of acoustic phenomena, because a limitation in the frequency range of the spectra obtained by numerical analyses exists. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to study the characteristics of the acoustic waves from a correctly expanded supersonic jet impinging on the inclined plate experimentally. To achieve this, the acoustic waves from the impinging jet are measured using a microphone at a jet facility. The waves are then visualized using the schlieren method, and their propagation directions, spectra, and the extent of the source region are discussed in this study.After an evaluation of the accuracy of the SPLmeasurement and confirmation of the jet profile (described in Sec. II.D.), an overview of the acoustic field based on the results of the SPL measurements and schlieren visualization is presented inSec. III.A. Then, the spectra of the acoustic waves are discussed in Sec. III.B. Finally, the extent of the source region of the acoustic waves is discussed using the SPL distributions and a schlieren visualization movie analysis, in Sec. III.C. Received 26 September 2014; revision received 4 November 2014; accepted for publication4November 2014; published online 28 January 2015. Copyright© 2014byMasahitoAkamine. Published by theAmerican Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. Copies of this paper may be made for personal or internal use, on condition that the copier pay the $10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 1533-385X/15 and $10.00 in correspondence with the CCC. *Graduate Student, Department of Advanced Energy. Student Member AIAA. Ph.D. Student, Department of Advanced Energy; currently at IHI Corporation. Associate Professor, Department of Advanced Energy. Member AIAA. Associate Professor, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Senior Member AIAA. Senior Engineer, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. **Engineer, JAXA’s Engineering Digital Innovation (JEDI) Center. Member AIAA.