Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing Facility
The Short Take-off and Vertical Landing (STOVL) facility is one of FCAAP's two jet facilities. STOVL provides a means to study both free jet and impinging jet flow physics through the use of several optical diagnostic techniques including Schlieren photography, Particle Image Velocimetry, Background Oriented Schlieren and Pressure Sensitive Paints. Various configurations can be tested with a Mach number range of 0.5-2.2 with geometries including conical, elliptical, rectangular, and chevron nozzles. In addition, with the use of a 192 kW inline electric heater, the stagnation temperature can be raised to nearly 1000°F to study the effects of temperature. With the addition of a secondary, independently controlled pressure supply line, the facility's capabilities expand to include twin nozzle configurations, co-flow and the interaction of cold and hot streams. The primary focus of the facility is to improve current knowledge in an effort to effectively and intelligently design and test control devices aimed at reducing high noise levels associated by free and impinging high speed jets.
Testing Capabilities
- Mach Number Range - 0.5 to 2.2
- Maximum Temperature - 800K
- Single Nozzle Exit Diameter Range - Supersonic up to 2in
- Run Times - Unlimited
Diagnostics
- Near field microphones
- Steady and unsteady pressure measurements on lift plate and ground plane
- Temperature and pressure profiles
- Flow visualization - Shadowgraph and Schlieren
- Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) - Planar and Stereoscopic
- LabView based control and system monitoring
- High speed antialiasing data acquisition
Research Topics
- Supersonic jet impingement
- Active control to reduce impinging as well as free jet noise
- High temperature jet characterization
- Asymmetric nozzle geometries characterization - elliptic and rectangular
- Serpentine exhaust ducts
