Flexible Plate Supersonic Wind Tunnel Flow Correction to Account for Plate Elastic Properties

Citation

Chase, Patrick Stanley (1950) Flexible Plate Supersonic Wind Tunnel Flow Correction to Account for Plate Elastic Properties. Engineer's thesis, California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/EC0T-P917. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-02242009-093505

Abstract

A method of correcting the static pressure distribution in the working section of a supersonic wind tunnel with flexible nozzle walls is investigated, in order to account for the discrepancy between the theoretical nozzle wall shape and the actual wall shape due to its elastic properties. The method of correction is described and an example for an existing wind tunnel is carried out. It is shown that the method of correction is not successful due to the inadequate accuracy of the data from physical measurements and due to the nature of the equations which must be solved. While the former difficulty could possibly be avoided, the latter is considered to be inherent in the method. Suggestions and criticisms are offered and some results of the investigation regarding correction of the actual wind tunnel static pressure distributions are mentioned.

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