Numerical simulation of highly-swirling supersonic flow inside a Laval nozzle (Q959590)

Summary: A high-speed compressible gas is introduced tangentially into an adiabatic convergent-divergent nozzle, thus forming a highly swirling supersonic compressible flow. Numerical simulations are carried out of the flows with various inlet swirling intensities. Both temperature and velocity distributions inside the nozzle are obtained. The average centrifugal acceleration at the nozzle outlet is computed, and its relation with the inlet centrifugal acceleration is analysed. It is found that, although shock wave may well exist at the nozzle throat, the swirling intensity or vorticity can still be enlarged by a factor of 2 to 10 at the nozzle outlet.