The NASA Ames 16-Inch Shock Tunnel Nozzle Simulations and Experimental Comparison

The 16-Inch Shock Tunnel at NASA Ames Research Center is a unique test facility used for hypersonic propulsion testing. To provide information necessary to understand the hypersonic testing of the combustor model, computational simulations of the facility nozzle were performed and results are compared with available experimental data, namely static pressure along the nozzle walls and pitot pressure at the exit of the nozzle section. Both quasi-one-dimensional and axisymmetric approaches were used to study the numerous modeling issues involved. The facility nozzle flow was examined for three hypersonic test conditions, and the computational results are presented in detail. The effects of variations in reservoir conditions, boundary layer growth, and parameters of numerical modeling are explored.