Sonic and Subsonic Axisymmetric Nozzle Flows

The boundary value problems governing compressible, steady, inviscid, axisymmetric flow from a nozzle are formulated and solved numerically. The Legendre, or contact, potential formulation is used in the hodograph plane to determine flows that are at most sonic. The complication for axisymmetric flow is the nonlinearity of the governing hodograph equations which are linear in the two-dimensional case. A small disturbance formulation of this problem, applicable for small angle nozzles and nearly sonic conditions, is also presented. This has a simpler mathematical framework and provides a check of the appropriate exact results. The larger goal of this research is to provide insight and a workable framework for more general axisymmetric transonic flows.