Experimental study on restraining outflow distortion of a waterjet inlet using vortex generator jets

Abstract The internal flow of the flush-type waterjet intake duct is simulated through an experiment in a low speed wind tunnel. The distributions of static pressure along the intake duct wall and the total pressure in the pump face plane are measured to investigate the influence of the vortex generator jet (VGJ) on the outflow behavior. Test cases were screened by Taguchi method. Experiment results verify a pair of VG jets with a blowing ratio 2 and lateral spacing 4 has the best performance. The inlet’s outflow is improved that total pressure recovery coefficient is raised from 0.712 to 0.771 and uniformity coefficient of axial velocity component from 0.652 to 0.824. The distortion coefficient of total pressure is reduced from 0.381 to 0.177. Vortex generator jet is a promising active flow control for waterjet application.