Experimental and numerical investigation of starting process of a parabolic nozzle in high altitude test simulator

In the present research, the experimental and numerical investigation of the starting process of the second throat diffuser with a parabolic nozzle containing expansion ratio of 35 has been conducted at a relatively low total pressure. This investigation uses an experimental setup known as a small-scale high-altitude test facility with compressed air as the working fluid. Using numerical simulation, the physical phenomena occurring in each stage of vacuum generation have been identified and analyzed. The results show that the process of vacuum generation in the high-altitude simulator of the second throat type with the presence of Thrust Optimum Parabolic (TOP) nozzles included four stages. In the first stage, the vacuum was gradually created by using the nozzle in the free shock separation (FSS). In the second stage, which started as soon as the transition from the FSS pattern to restricted shock separation (RSS), the vacuum generation was slow and accompanied by oscillation. Vacuum generation was gradual in the third stage, which corresponds to the beginning of the shock separation with recirculation(SSR) and continues until the end of regular reflection (RR). And finally, the last stage also coincides with the structure of expanded, under-expanded conditions, the impact of the jet exiting the nozzle with the diffuser wall, and the establishment of start-up conditions, creating a vacuum at a slower rate than in other stages.