3

I think the main point you are missing is that at supersonic speeds you can no longer treat your gas as
incompressible and so must also consider the change in density.

If we do this we can derive the can in speed as the nozzle expands. This gives a relation of:
dVdA=VA(M2−1)dVdA=VA(M2−1)
where VV is the flow speed, AA is the nozzle cross section, and MM is the Mach number of the
flow. (Derivation at end of answer if it is of interest).
From this equation you should see that at low speed ( M<1M<1) the behavior is as expected
and a decreasing the nozzle size increases the speed. For high speed ( M>1M>1) the opposite
happens and the flow speeds up as the diameter increases.
However, continuity of mass flow means that ρAV=constρAV=const. so if
both AA and VV increase this must be matched by a decrease in density, ρρ, which prevents
any perpetual motion.
The general design of a converging-diverging nozzle is such that the initially low speed gas is
accelerated as it is squeezed into the throat (with minimum diameter) at which it reaches the speed of
sound. It is then accelerated further as it is now a supersonic flow moving through a diverging
nozzle.7

Why need diverging nozzle for supersonic flow?

Fluid flows in nozzle beacuase of pressure difference,so to increase velocity more than speed of
sound,we need to decrease back pressure less than critical pressure at which MA=1,so that a potential
will be formed between nozzle throat at diverging nozzle exit.so now fluid will flow from higher Pr.
To lower Pr. Meaning pressure has to decrease somehow so for that we provide diverging section
that reduces pressure to that particular back pressure and increases velocity.

2.Shockwave occurs because of pressure difference or negative pressure to counter this pressure loss.

3.If area ratio(Aexit/Athroat) is fixed, you will need a particular value of back pressure that will
provide smooth flow without any shock or discontinuities. And if you have a particular design back
pressure than u have to find particular area ratio that gives smooth flow.

In order to avoid shockwave in flow, what we do is that we decrease back pressure less than the
value of pressure that will be achieved due to supersonic flow.

When we decrease back pressure less than critical pressure,what happens is that flowrate
doesnot increase but still due to potentil difference fluid flows from throat to match that back
pressure set. So to facilitate decrease in pressure and to conserve continuity equation, a
diverging duct is provided that allows supersonic velocity, Now increase in velocity, pressure
will reduce but this reduced value is still less than ALREADY SET BACK PRESSURE
WHERE the fluid have to go. So a shock occurs due to difference of pressure that is low
pressure due to supersonic flow and set back pressure which has higher value i.eFlow to go
though low pressure to high pressure

SUPERSONIC DIFFUSER:
When the back-pressure in the diffuser is optimized, a normal shock wave is set

up at the lip of the diffuser and the pressure behind the shock wave is increased. No

air spill-over occurs at the lip of the diffuser and the airflow velocity is as shown in

Fig. D-2 (b). The pressure in the diffuser increases and the airflow velocity

decreases along the flow direction. When the back-pressure is lower than the design pressure, a
normal shock wave is “swallowed” inside of the diffuser, as shown

in Fig. D-2 (c). Since the flow velocity in front of the normal shock wave in the diffuser is
increased along the flow direction, the strength of the normal shock wave

inside of the diffuser becomes higher than that in the case of the diffuser at the optimized back-
pressure shown in Fig. D-2 (b). Thus, the pressure behind the shock
wave is lowered due to the increased entropy.
Isentropic Flow through Convergent

At low speeds the fluid is treated as incompressible, so when the nozzle contracts, the only way
for the molecules to get out of the way of one another and conserve mass is by speeding up. In
a compressible flow, that same fluid can change in density, meaning it isn't required to follow
the same rules as incompressible flows. I may be wrong here, as I haven't ever really
considered this question aside from what the equations say, but when the area increases, the
density decreases and the temperature drops. This is a net loss of energy that is balanced by
the resulting increase in kinetic energy.

Source https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/supersonic-flow-in-diverging-
nozzle.550166/#targetText=To%20increase%20velocity%20after%20a,pressure%20and
%20accelerating%20the%20flow.

For supersonic flows,M > 1 , as the area decreases velocity also decreases, and as the area
increases, velocity also increases. We can explain this behaviour like this. In response to an
area
change all the static properties change. At subsonic speeds changes in density are smaller.
The
velocity decreases when there is an increased area offered (and vice versa). But in case of a
supersonic flow with increasing area density decreases at a faster rate than velocity. In
order to
preserve continuity velocity now increases (and decreases when area is reduced). vice
versa).
❍ Not apparent from the above equation is another important property. If the geometry of

the flow
involves a throat, then mathematically it can shown that if a sonic point occurs in the flow,
it
occurs only at the Throat. But the converse - The flow is always sonic at throat , is not true.