Cavity Wall Undulations to Manage Unsteady Airflow

Abstract We investigate the use of cavity wall features to improve acoustics, drag, and unsteadiness across the flight envelope. Undulations referred to as “juts” are added to the cavity wall to catch internal cavity vortices and delay their growth and shedding into the freestream. We use large eddy simulation to model the flow over the cavity for compressible flow conditions. The frequencies of the undulations are adjusted to investigate an optimum configuration. The juts are compared based on their complexity, noise profile, and drag in and around the bay. We find juts that mirror the dominant tones present in the cavity perform the best for controlling acoustic noise and aerodynamic drag. We also propose possible applications of these juts to real-world aerospace applications.