Experimental and numerical investigation of separated flows in subsonic diffusers

The results of a special investigation of the diffuser flowfield are presented for two models of curvilinear diffuser channels with annular and rectangular cross-sections. The flow is visualized and the total pressure fields are measured by means of low-inertia transducers. At the same time, the flows are numerically calculated using commercial programs, together with codes developed by the authors. In these calculations the stationary and time-dependent Reynolds equations closed by different turbulence models, as well as the time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations, were integrated. A considerable difference between the measured data and the results of the numerical calculations in the stationary formulation is found to exist. At the same time, it has been possible to describe the occurrence of spatial inhomogeneities, the flow pattern, and the level of the experimentally observed aerodynamic losses on the basis of the solution of time-dependent problems.