Hydrodynamic Design Considerations for Hydroacoustic Facilities: Part I—Flow Quality

Design studies are described for two recently completed large scale hydroacoustic test facilities (one of which is the world’s largest). These recirculating water tunnels have a different configuration than conventional tunnels, and special hydrodynamic design studies were required to evaluate and optimize the performance of some critical components. This paper considers the flow quality in the test section as influenced by the design of the contraction and the turbulence management system. Numerical modeling and experimental work were used to arrive at an acceptable nonsymmetrical nozzle design. Studies were also made of a turbulence management system using honeycombs rather than screens as typically used. Although design goals for turbulence levels were met, this study indicated that additional research in the area of turbulence management is necessary before there is a complete understanding of the overall process of turbulence attenuation.