The effect of secondary flows on the starting pressure for a second-throat supersonic ejector

The effect of the secondary flow on the starting pressure of a second-throat supersonic ejector has been investigated by adapting the height of the secondary flow inlet. The obtained results show that an optimum value of the secondary inlet height exists, and the starting pressure of the ejector becomes a minimum at that condition. Based on the results of the pressure measurements, a qualitative analysis has been made to clarify the flow behavior and the physical meaning of the performance diagram. It appears that the choking phenomenon of the secondary flow plays an important role in the starting process of the ejector. When the secondary inlet height is relatively small, the choked secondary flow and the supersonic primary flow could be employed to protect the static pressure in the suction chamber from being disturbed by the back pressure effect at a certain primary stagnation pressure, which is lower than the starting pressure for the case of the zero-secondary flow. However, as the secondary inlet height increases and exceeds a critical value, the static pressure in the suction chamber rapidly increases, and the starting pressure of the ejector increases accordingly.