Source: Shreyas Narsipur, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC

A nozzle is a device that is commonly used to accelerate or decelerate flow by virtue of its varying cross-section. Nozzles are widely used in aerospace propulsion systems. In rockets, propellant that is ejected from the chamber is accelerated through a nozzle to create a reaction force that propels the system. In jet engines, a nozzle is used to transform energy from a high-pressure source into kinetic energy of the exhaust to produce thrust. The isentropic model along the nozzle is sufficient for a first-order analysis as the flow in a nozzle is very rapid (and thus adiabatic to a first approximation) with very little frictional loses (because the flow is nearly one-dimensional with a favorable pressure gradient, except if shock waves form and nozzles are relatively short).

In this experiment, two types of nozzles are mounted on a nozzle test rig, and a pressure flow is created using a compressed air source. The nozzles are run for different back-pressure settings to analyze the internal flow in the nozzles under varying flow conditions, identify the various flow regimes, and compare the data to theoretical predictions.

In this demonstration, a nozzle test rig was used, which consisted of a compressed air source that channels high-pressure air through the nozzles being tested, as shown in Figure 5. The flow pressure ranges from 0 - 120 psi and is controlled using a mechanical valve. While the pressures are measured using an external sensor, the mass flow rates in the nozzle are measured by a pair of rotameters placed right before the exhaust of the nozzle test rig.

.css-f1q1l5{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:flex-end;-webkit-box-align:flex-end;-ms-flex-align:flex-end;align-items:flex-end;background-image:linear-gradient(180deg, rgba(255, 255, 255, 0) 0%, rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8) 40%, rgba(255, 255, 255, 1) 100%);width:100%;height:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-lg);color:#676B82;}