Abstract
The present research presents a new type of thruster that has a nozzle-like, or diffuser-like, configuration, i.e., an asymmetric channel. The fluid in the channel is excited by the reciprocating piston integrated on the sidewall. The experiment and the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and the one-dimensional(lD) analysis were conducted to investigate the flow characteristics in the asymmetric channels. In the experiment, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system was used. In the CFD, the ANSYS code was utilized. In the analysis, the one-dimensional analysis was performed with the continuity, the unsteady momentum and the quasi-steady loss equations. The experimental, CFD and analytical unsteady results agree qualitatively well. The mean flow runs from the wide to the narrow and the time-averaged thrusts acts in the opposite direction. The thrusts becomes larger for the 3mm width than for the 24mm one.
