Experimental Analysis of an Advanced-Design, Quasi-Radial Diffuser Receiving an Oscillating Jet

Methods of experimental analysis of airflow through an advanced-design, quasi-radial diffuser receiving an oscillating jet induced by a rotating baffle were devised and performed. The initially unsteady flow was found to lose its unsteadiness as it progressed through the diffuser and exited into the atmosphere. Within the diffuser, regions of slow flow in the lee of ventilation holes exist due to entrainment. The addition of a convergence insert across from these holes increased flow speeds, but also deflected the flow farther away from the holes, aiding separation. The predominantly steady flow over a flat plate upon which the exiting flow impinged produced an asymmetric static pressure profile. This was probably due to the mechanism that set up the oscillations in the flow, the rotating baffle.