Computational Investigation of Flow in a Triangular Cavity

Computational fluid dynamics simulations were conducted on a triangular prism cavity with L/D = 4.5 in M∞ = 2.9 flow to investigate the frequency content and flow features. Compu- tational solutions were obtained using the Kestrel solver with improved delayed detached eddy simulation and Menter shear stress transport model for turbulence. This work found that the triangular prism cavity seems to dampen sound pressure level significantly when compared to similar rectangular cavity data. Additionally, the triangular prism cavity shares some flow features with rectangular cavities including a turbulent shear layer, which impacts the back wall causing a large recirculation vortex in the cavity, as well as streamwise vortex shedding from the sides of the cavity. But in contrast, the triangular cavity does not have apparent front and rear corner vortices, but a large, weak recirculation region in the front of the cavity, which rotates in the opposite direction of the primary recirculation vortex.