An experimental study of the nozzle lip thickness effect on supersonic jet screech tones

It is well known that screech tones of supersonic jet are generated by a feedback loop driven by the instability waves. Near the nozzle lip where the supersonic jet mixing layer is receptive to external excitation, acoustic disturbances impinging on this area excite the instability waves. This fact implies that the nozzle lip thickness can influence the screech tones of supersonic jet. The objective of the present study is to experimentally investigate the effect of nozzle-lip thickness on screech tones of supersonic jets issuing from a convergent-divergent nozzle. A baffle plate was installed at the nozzle exit to change the nozzle-lip thickness. Detailed acoustic measurement and flow visualization were made to specify the screech tones. The results obtained obviously show that nozzle-lip thickness significantly affects the screech tones of supersonic jet, strongly depending on whether the jet at the nozzle exit is over-expanded or under-expanded.