Investigation of Transonic and Supersonic Flows over an Open Cavity Mounted on Curved Wall (I) - Steady Flow Characteristics -

Investigations into cavity flows have been conducted for decades now, most of them being about zeropressure-gradient flows entering a cavity on a straight wall. However, the flow over curved walls in real-life situations has not been fully investigated. As cavity flows on curved walls exert centrifugal force, these walls are likely to possess different features from straight walls. To verify this possibility, this study investigated cavity flows on curved walls. Using numerical method, the effect of two variables, namely, radius of curvature on a curved wall and inlet Mach number, were investigated for subsonic and supersonic cavity flows. The result demonstrates that the value of the peak pressure generated inside the cavity increases with the decrease in the radius of curvature on a curved wall or an increase in the inlet Mach number. The total pressure loss in the cavity also results in an increase in the cavity drag.