RESUMO

The time accurate numerical simulation of transient shock behavior and flow-field analysis in a Mach 3 blowdown supersonic wind tunnel was carried out. For this purpose, the shape of the Mach contour for the given Mach number was determined using the method of characteristics and the numerical solutions were obtained using the finite volume method. The numerical method was validated by the previous numerical study involving flow in a double throat nozzle, and the results showed close behavior with each other. The impact of different stagnation temperature on the flow-field characteristics was investigated, and the results indicated that although the increase of stagnation temperature to 700 K increases the static temperature in the test section by ~150 K, drying the working fluid can be a more effective solution in preventing the condensation of fluid flow in the test section.