Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A de Laval nozzle (or convergent-divergent nozzle, CD nozzle or con-di nozzle) is a tube which is pinched in the middle, with a rapid convergence and gradual divergence. It is used to accelerate a compressible fluid to supersonic speeds in the axial (thrust) direction, by converting the thermal energy of the flow into kinetic energy .
Convergent nozzles are used on many jet engines. If the nozzle pressure ratio is above the critical value (about 1.8:1) a convergent nozzle will choke, resulting in some of the expansion to atmospheric pressure taking place downstream of the throat (i.e., smallest flow area), in the jet wake. Although jet momentum still produces much of the ...
Figure 1a shows the flow through the nozzle when it is completely subsonic (i.e. the nozzle is not choked). The flow in the chamber accelerates as it converges toward the throat, where it reaches its maximum (subsonic) speed at the throat. The flow then decelerates through the diverging section and exhausts into the ambient as a subsonic jet.
As the throat constricts, the gas is forced to accelerate until at the nozzle throat, where the cross-sectional area is the least, the linear velocity becomes sonic. From the throat the cross-sectional area then increases, the gas expands and the linear velocity becomes progressively more supersonic.
So, for a supersonic flow to develop from a reservoir where the velocity is zero, the subsonic flow must first accelerate through a converging area to a throat, followed by continued acceleration through an enlarging area. The nozzles on a rocket designed to place satellites in orbit are constructed using such converging-diverging geometry.
A de Laval nozzle has a convergent section followed by a divergent section and is often called a convergent-divergent (CD) nozzle ("con-di nozzle"). Convergent nozzles accelerate subsonic fluids. If the nozzle pressure ratio is high enough, then the flow will reach sonic velocity at the narrowest point (i.e. the nozzle throat). In this ...
The nozzle is usually convergent with a fixed flow area. Supersonic nozzle — For high nozzle pressure ratios (Nozzle Entry Pressure/Ambient Pressure) a convergent-divergent (de Laval) nozzle is used. The expansion to atmospheric pressure and supersonic gas velocity continues downstream of the throat and produces more thrust.
This type of nozzle – the converging-diverging nozzle – is called a de Laval nozzle after Gustaf de Laval, who invented it. As subsonic flow enters the converging duct and the area decreases, the flow accelerates. Upon reaching the minimum area of the duct, also known as the throat of the nozzle, the flow can reach Mach 1.