Wave Rotor Design Method With Three Steps Including Experimental Validation

Abstract

This paper adapted and extended the preliminary two-step wave rotor design method with another step of experimental validation so that it became a self-validating wave rotor design method with three steps. First, the analytic design based on unsteady pressure wave models was elucidated and adapted to a design function. It was quick and convenient for a first prediction of the wave rotor. Second, the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was adapted so that it helped to adjust the first prediction. It provided detailed information of the wave rotor inner flow. Thirdly, an experimental method was proposed to complement the validation of the wave rotor design. This experimental method realized tracing the pressure waves and the flows in the wave rotor with measurement on pressure and temperature distributions. The critical point of the experiment is that the essential flow characteristics in the rotor were reflected by the measurements in the static ports. In all, the three steps compensated for each other in a global design procedure, and formed an applicable design method for generic cases.