Professional Documents
Culture Documents
148
14.Applications of Oblique Shocks and
P-M Expansions
14.1 Converging-Diverging Nozzle
Now that we are equipped with the relations for oblique shocks and Prandtl-
Meyer expansions, we can return to the problem of the converging diverging
nozzle with flow exhausting into a chamber with variable back pressure and
resolve what happens in the cases of p
4
>p
back
>p
design
and p
back
<p
design
(recall Section8.2). In other words, what happens when the back pressure is
sufficiently low such that the flow chokes at the throat and becomes supersonic
in the diverging section, but an isentropic flow or a combination of one-
dimensional isentropic and normal shock flow cannot match the back
pressure?
In the case where p
4
>p
back
>p
design
, the flow through the entire nozzle is
supersonic, but the exit pressure (which will equal p
design
) is less than the back
pressure. The pressure mismatch is not enough to force a normal shock into
the nozzle. In this case, an oblique shock will appear in the exhaust flow
beyond the end of the nozzle. The oblique shock will be attached to the nozzle
lip, and deflects the exit flow inward. The strength of the oblique shock will be
such that the pressure after the shock matches the back pressure.
In the case of p
back
<p
design
, the nozzle flow is again entirely supersonic, but
in this case the exit pressure (which will equal p
design
) is greater than the back
pressure. The flow, as it exits the nozzle, will further expand outward to match
the ambient pressure via a centered Prandtl-Meyer expansion fan that is
attached to the nozzle lip.
These exit flow phenomena show up in rocket nozzle exhaust plumes if the
exit pressure does not exactly match the ambient pressure. If a rocket nozzle
has been optimized for operation at sea level and then is operated at altitude,
the resulting nozzle flow is underexpanded. The supersonic flow exiting the
nozzle is at a higher pressure than the ambient pressure (which plays the role of
back pressure). Thus, the flow will expand outwards via a Prandtl-Meyer
expansion attached to the nozzle lip. If the mismatch in pressure is large, the
p
o
p
o
p
x
x
p
*
p
back
=p
3
p
3
<p
back
<p
o
Subsonic Flow
Choked Flow
p
back
=p
d
A
throat
(subsonic outflow)
p
4
<p
back
<p
3
Normal Shock
(subsonic outflow)
p
back
p
d
<p
back
<p
4
Oblique Shock
Outside Nozzle
p
back
<p
d
P-M Expansion
Outside Nozzle
p
back
> p
exit
p
exit
p
back
< p
exit
p
exit