Influence of nozzle external geometry on the emission of screech tones

The effect of external nozzle geometry on the emission of screech tones was studied experimentally. Four conical reflector surfaces, with half-angles ranging from 60° to 90°, were installed around the exit of a round convergent nozzle. The investigation focused on two closely spaced fully-expanded Mach numbers, M j = 1.32 and 1.34. The acoustic far-field was surveyed by a microphone phased array that included a continuously-scanning microphone, the latter enabling high spatial resolution. The isolated jets contained well-known screech mode B and its harmonics. Addition of the reflectors caused significant changes in the modal emission pattern, with tones traditionally linked to mode C occurring at M j = 1.34 but not at M j = 1.32. Tonal components associated with new modes E and F emerge at both Mach numbers when the cone half-angle is 60° or 70°. The noise source distribution generally elongates with decreasing cone angle. Some modes show clear scattering from the reflectors, while others do not. The study underscores the complexity that initial conditions can impart on the modal structure of screech and demonstrates the capability of the continuous-scan beamforming technique in resolving fine features of the source.