Generation and propagation of pressure waves in supersonic deep-cavity flows

The mechanism behind cavity-induced pressure oscillations in supersonic flows past a deep rectangular cavity is not well understood despite several investigations having been carried out. In particular, the process by which the pressure wave is generated and the path of the pressure wave propagating inside the cavity remains unclear. In the present study, the pressure waves around a deep rectangular cavity over which nitrogen gas flows at a Mach number of 1.7 are visualized using the schlieren method. The length of the cavity is 14.0 mm. The depths of the cavity are selected as 20.0 and 11.7 mm, corresponding to length-to-depth ratios of 0.70 and 1.2, respectively. The pressure waves propagating inside as well as outside the cavity have been successfully visualized using a high-speed camera, and the propagation pattern of these waves is found to be different from that previously predicted by numerical simulation and from those expected in previous oscillation models. In addition, the pressure oscillation near the trailing edge of the cavity is also measured using semiconductor-type pressure transducers simultaneously with the capture of the schlieren images. As a result, the relationship between the shear-layer motion, pressure-wave generation, and pressure oscillation at the trailing edge of the cavity is clarified experimentally.