ON THE SHOCK ENHANCEMENT OF CONFINED SUPERSONIC MIXING FLOWS

Direct numerical simulations using high-resolution total variation diminishing (TVD) scheme are performed for studying the shock enhancement of two-dimensional confined (spatially growing) supersonic mixing flows. Several specially designed mixing enhancement schemes are examined with emphasis placed on the study of the fundamental aspects involved in the shock-induced mixing enhancement process. The merits associated with these mixing enhancement schemes are evaluated based on a cost/effectiveness criterion, in which the cost paid for the total pressure loss encountered and the improvement in mixing gained are considered together. The results suggest that mixing enhancement using shock waves can only be effective if the stimulation is spatially persistent, and begins from the very upstream. Being motivated by this observation, an idea of using wavy-wall configuration to generate the desirable periodic shock stimulation is proposed and investigated. The computed results show that, by an appropriate manipulation of the parameters including wall wavelength, relative phase shift between the top and bottom walls, as well as the amplitude of the waviness, considerable improvement in mixing efficiency can be achieved.