Characterization of cavity wakes

Scope and Method of Study. This research focused on flow over deep cavities at subsonic speeds with emphasis on the wake downstream of the cavity. Cavity wake behaviors have not been studied in detail and are a major concern for air vehicles with cavities and in particular for optical sensor systems installed in cavities. Other key behaviors for sensor survival and performance are cavity resonance and turbulence scales in the shear layer. A wind tunnel test apparatus was developed to explore cavity and wake characteristics. It consisted of a test section insert for the OSU Indraft Wind Tunnel with an additional contraction cone for significantly increased speed. The test section included a variable depth cavity in a boundary layer splitter plate/fairing assembly, a Y-Z traverse and pitot rake with in-situ pressure transducers for high frequency response. Flows were measured over clean cavities with length to depth (L/D) ratios of 4 to 1/2 and on cavities with a porous fence for resonance suppression. Measurements were taken in streamwise and cross-stream sections to three cavity lengths downstream of the cavity trailing edge. Flow visualization using laser sheet and smoke injection was also used.;Findings and Conclusions. The high speed insert demonstrated a significant new capability for the OSU wind tunnel, reaching speeds of 0.35 Mach (390 feet/second) in a 14"x14" test section. Inlet room flow was found to be quite unsteady and recommendations are made for improved flow and quantitative visualization. Key findings for cavity wake flow include its highly three dimensional nature with asymmetric peaks in cross section with boundary layer thicknesses and integral length scales several times that of a normal flat plate turbulent boundary layer (TBL). Turbulent intensities (TI) of 35% to 55% of freestream speeds were measured for the clean configuration. Fence configuration TI's were 20% to 35% of free stream and, in both configurations, TI's decayed to approximately that of a flat plate TBL by 3 cavity lengths downstream from the cavity trailing edge. Fence flow visualization showed edge vortices and jets through the perforations that suggest the potential for minimizing turbulence intensity and scales while still suppressing cavity resonance.