Skewness and shock formation in laboratory-scale supersonic jet data.

Spatial properties of noise statistics near unheated, laboratory-scale supersonic jets yield insights into source characteristics and near-field shock formation. Primary findings are (1) waveforms with positive pressure skewness radiate from the source with a directivity upstream of maximum overall level and (2) skewness of the time derivative of the pressure waveforms increases significantly with range, indicating formation of shocks during propagation. These results corroborate findings of a previous study involving full-scale engine data. Further, a comparison of ideally and over-expanded laboratory data show that while derivative skewness maps are similar, waveform skewness maps are substantially different for the two cases.