Numerical analysis on the start-up flow past a resonant cavity

This paper presents the results of a computational analysis on a three-dimensional unsteady flow inside a resonant cavity. The cavity was fully immersed in a channel flow, had a squared cross section, and a spanwise aspect ratio equal to 3. It was partly closed to the inflow by slits upstream and downstream. The lid was 114 of the cavity length. The Reynolds number was Re =8000 based on the freestream velocity. The numerical simulations were carried out for flow times up to 380 units. Results are presented for a symmetric cavity with respect to the normal to the freestream. The analysis shows complex three-dimensional vortex structures, with Taylor-Görtler-type vortices, filament vortices, and other secondary vortices, some having a relatively short life-span. It is shown that the flow is substantially symmetric, with small spanwise instabilities. It is further shown that there is an asymptotic tendency to an unsteady flow with large wavelengths. A primary vortex establishes at the center of the cavity. Most vortex regions disappear and that they depend on the type of geometry and the state of the boundary layer at the inlet. Copyright © 2008 by ASME.