Abstract: An experimental investigation is conducted in a high speed wind tunnel to improve the cavity characteristics and store separation characteristics of a certain weapon. A metal bar is suspended at the leading edge of the cavity to disturb the cavity flow field. Detailed static-pressure and fluctuating pressure measurements are obtained on the cavity floor to determine the effects of flow control on cavity flow characteristics when the store is at different separating positions. Meanwhile, forces and moments on the store are measured to determine the effects of the flow control method on store separation characteristics. The results indicate that the effects of the flow control method on cavity floor static pressure distributions and overall sound pressure distributions are similar when the store is at different separating positions. This flow control method can reduce cavity static pressure gradient remarkably and improve store separation characteristics effectively when the cavity flow type is transitional/closed cavity flow, while it can suppress aeroacoustic noise when the cavity flow type is an open cavity flow.

Key words: cavity, flow control, sound pressure level, pressure gradient, separation characteristic