Underexpanded jet development from a rectangular nozzle with aft-deck

An experimental study is reported of underexpanded supersonic jet plumes issuing from a high-aspect-ratio convergent rectangular nozzle. Schlieren visualization, Pitot probe, and Laser Doppler Anemometry measurements are carried out to capture the plume development in the near field, and in particular the effect on the plume flow of a finite-length extended shelf or aft-deck attached to the lower nozzle wall. This creates asymmetry in the inviscid shock cell pattern and the entrainment characteristics, both of which influence shear-layer growth and plume trajectory. A net pressure force is induced on the aft-deck wall, which leads to transverse deflection of the jet plume once it leaves the aft-deck, both upward and downward, depending on aft-deck length and nozzle pressure ratio. For sufficiently high nozzle pressure ratio and a sufficiently long aft-deck, separation and reattachment of the plume from the aft-deck is observed. Detailed mapping of both mean velocity and turbulence in the plume near field has been carried out, enabling comparison of flow behavior for a clean nozzle and a nozzle with aft-deck. The data provided are proposed as a suitable benchmark validation test case for computational fluid dynamics studies of rectangular nozzle plumes with aft-deck interaction effects.