Imaging of acoustically coupled oscillations due to flow past a shallow cavity: effect of cavity length scale

Flow-acoustic interactions due to fully turbulent inflow past a shallow axisymmetric cavity mounted in a pipe, which give rise to flow tones, are investigated using a technique of high-image-density particle image velocimetry in conjunction with unsteady pressure measurements. This imaging leads to patterns of velocity, vorticity, streamline topology, and hydrodynamic contributions to the acoustic power integral. Global instantaneous images, as well as time-averaged images, are evaluated to provide insight into the flow physics during tone generation. Emphasis is on the manner in which the streamwise length scale of the cavity alters the major features of the flow structure. These image-based approaches allow identification of regions of the unsteady shear layer that contribute to the instantaneous hydrodynamic component of the acoustic power, which is necessary to maintain a flow tone. In addition, combined image analysis and pressure measurements allow categorization of the instantaneous flow patterns that are associated with types of time traces and spectra of the fluctuating pressure. In contrast to consideration based solely on pressure spectra, it is demonstrated that locked-on tones may actually exhibit intermittent, non-phase-locked images, apparently due to low damping of the acoustic resonator. Locked-on flow tones (without modulation or intermittency), locked-on flow tones with modulation, and non-locked-on oscillations with short-term, highly coherent fluctuations are defined and represented by selected cases. Depending on which of these regimes occur, the time-averaged Q (quality)-factor and the dimensionless peak pressure are substantially altered.