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The dynamics of shock-induced unsteady separated flow past a three-dimensional square-faced protuberance are investigated through wind tunnel experiments. Time-resolved schlieren imaging and unsteady surface pressure measurements are the diagnostics employed. Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) of schlieren snapshots and analysis of spectrum and correlations in pressure data are used to characterize and resolve the flow physics. The mean shock foot in the centreline is found to exhibit a Strouhal number of around 0.01, which is also the order of magnitude of the Strouhal numbers reported in the literature for two-dimensional shock–boundary layer interactions. The wall pressure spectra, in general, shift towards lower frequencies as one moves away (spanwise) from the centreline with some variation in the nature of peaks. The cross-correlation analysis depicts the strong dependence of the mean shock oscillations and the plateau pressure region, and disturbances are found to travel upstream from inside the separation bubble. Good coherence is observed between the spanwise mean shock foot locations till a Strouhal number of about 0.015 indicating that the three-dimensional shock foot largely moves to-and-fro in a coherent fashion.

Accurate prediction of aerothermal surface loading is of paramount importance for the design of high-speed flight vehicles. In this work, we consider the numerical solution of hypersonic flow over a double-finned geometry, representative of the inlet of an air-breathing flight vehicle, characterized by three-dimensional intersecting shock-wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction at Mach 8.3. High Reynolds numbers (ReL≈11.6×106 based on free-stream conditions) and the presence of cold walls (Tw/T∘≈0.26) leading to large near-wall temperature gradients necessitate the use of wall-modeled large eddy simulation (WMLES) in order to make calculations computationally tractable. The comparison of the WMLES results with experimental measurements shows good agreement in the time-averaged surface heat flux and wall pressure distributions, and the WMLES predictions show reduced errors with respect to the experimental measurements than prior RANS calculations. The favorable comparisons are obtained using a standard LES wall model based on equilibrium boundary layer approximations despite the presence of numerous non-equilibrium conditions including three-dimensionality in the mean, shock/boundary layer interactions, and flow separation. We demonstrate that the use of semi-local eddy viscosity scaling (in lieu of the commonly used van Driest scaling) in the LES wall model is necessary to accurately predict the surface pressure loading and heat fluxes.

A high-fidelity simulation of the massively separated shock/transitional boundary layer interaction caused by a 15-degrees axisymmetrical compression ramp is performed at a free stream Mach number of 6 and a transitional Reynolds number. The chosen configuration yields a strongly multiscale dynamics of the flow as the separated region oscillates at low-frequency, and high-frequency transitional instabilities are triggered by the injection of a generic noise at the inlet of the simulation. The simulation is post-processed using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition to extract the large scale low-frequency dynamics of the recirculation region. The bubble dynamics from the simulation is then compared to the results of a global linear stability analysis about the mean flow. A critical interpretation of the eigenspectrum of the linearized Navier–Stokes operator is presented. The recirculation region dynamics is found to be dominated by two coexisting modes, a quasi-steady one that expresses itself mainly in the reattachment region and that is caused by the interaction of two self-sustained instabilities, and an unsteady one linked with the separation shock-wave and the mixing layer. The unsteady mode is driven by a feedback loop in the recirculation region, which may also be relevant for other unsteady shock-motion already documented for shock-wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction. The impact of the large-scale dynamics on the transitional one is then assessed through the numerical filtering of those low wavenumber modes; they are found to have no impact on the transitional dynamics.

The effects of crossflow on the interaction between an impinging shock wave and a high-speed turbulent boundary layer are investigated using direct numerical simulations of statistically two-dimensional, three-component flow. The leading-order effect of crossflow is increased size and strength of the separation bubble, with upstream and downstream displacement of the separation and reattachment points, respectively. This effect is traced to retarded growth of the shear layer surrounding the separation bubble, with associated reduction of the turbulent shear stress. Genuinely, three-dimensional effects are observed in the interaction and in the downstream recovery zone, with mean flow direction changing both in the longitudinal and wall-normal directions. Three-dimensional, non-equilibrium effects yield substantial misalignment between turbulent stresses and mean strain rate, thus providing a challenging benchmark for the development and validation of turbulence models for compressible flows.

The effects of inlet Mach number on the unsteadiness of shock-boundary layer interactions (SBLIs) over curved surfaces are investigated for a supersonic turbine cascade using wall-resolved large eddy simulations. Three inlet Mach numbers, 1.85, 2.00, and 2.15 are considered at a chord-based Reynolds number 395,000. The curved walls of the airfoils impact the SBLIs due to the state of the incoming boundary layers and local pressure gradients. On the suction side, due to the convex wall, the boundary layer entering the SBLI evolves under a favorable pressure gradient and bulk dilatation. On the other hand, the concave wall on the pressure side imposes an adverse pressure gradient and bulk compression. Variations in the inlet Mach number induce different shock impingement locations, enhancing these effects. A detailed characterization of the suction side boundary layers indicates that a higher Mach number leads to larger shape factors, favoring separation and larger bubbles, while the reverse holds for the pressure side. A time-frequency analysis reveals the presence of intermittent events in the separated flow occurring predominantly at low-frequencies on the suction side and at mid-frequencies on the pressure side. Increasing the inlet Mach number leads to an increase in the time scales of the intermittent events on the suction side, which are associated with instants when high-speed streaks penetrate the bubble, causing local flow reattachment and bubble contractions. Instantaneous flow visualizations show the presence of streamwise vortices developing on the turbulent boundary layers on both airfoil sides and along the bubbles. These vortices influence the formation of the large-scale longitudinal structures in the boundary layers, affecting the mass imbalance inside the separation bubbles.

The generation mechanism of wall heat flux is one of the fundamental problems in supersonic/hypersonic turbulent boundary layers. A novel heat decomposition formula under the curvilinear coordinate was proposed in this paper. The new formula has wider application scope and can be applied in the configurations with grid deformed. The new formula analyzes the wall heat flux of an interaction between a shock wave and a turbulent boundary layer over a compression corner. The results indicated good performance of the formula in the complex interaction region. The contributions of different energy transport processes were obtained. While the processes by the mean profiles such as molecular stresses and heat conduction, can be ignored, the contributions by the turbulent fluctuations, such as Reynolds stresses and turbulent transfer of heat flux, were greatly increased. Additionally, the pressure work is another factor that affects the wall heat flux. The pressure work in the wall-normal direction is concentrated close to the reattachment point, while the pressure work in the streamwise direction acts primarily in the shear layer and the reattachment point.

Shock/turbulent-boundary-layer interactions (STBLIs) are ubiquitous in high-speed flight and propulsion applications. Experimental and computational investigations of swept, three-dimensional (3-D) interactions, which exhibit quasi-conical mean-flow symmetry in the limit of infinite span, have demonstrated key differences in unsteadiness from their analogous, two-dimensional (2-D), spanwise-homogeneous counterparts. For swept interactions, represented by the swept–fin-on-plate and swept–compression–ramp-on-plate configurations, differences associated with the separated shear layers may be traced to the intermixing of 2-D (spanwise independent) and 3-D (spanwise dependent) scaling laws for the separated mean flow. This results in a broader spectrum of unsteadiness that includes relatively lower frequencies associated with the separated shear layers in 3-D interactions. However, lower frequency ranges associated with the global “breathing” of strongly separated 2-D interactions are significantly less prominent in these simple, swept 3-D interactions. A logical extension of 3-D interaction complexity is the compound interaction formed by the merging of two simple interactions. The first objective of this work is therefore to analyze the more complex picture of the dynamics of such interactions, by considering as an exemplar, wall-resolved simulations of the double-fin-on-plate configuration. We show that in the region of interaction merging, new flow scales, changes in separation topology, and the emergence of lower-frequency phenomena are observed, whereas the dynamics of the interaction near the fin leading edges are similar to those of the simple, swept interactions. The second objective is to evolve a unified understanding of the dynamics of STBLIs associated with complex configurations relevant to actual propulsion systems, which involve the coupling between multiple shock systems and multiple flow separation and attachment events. For this, we revisit the salient aspects of scaling phenomena in a manner that aids in assimilating the double-fin flow with simpler swept interactions. The emphasis is on the influence of the underlying structure of the separated flow on the dynamics. The distinct features of the compound interactions manifest in a centerline symmetry pattern that replaces the quasi-conical symmetry of simple interactions. The primary separation displays topological closure to reveal new length scales, associated unsteadiness bands, and secondary flow separation.

Under off-design conditions, shock wave-boundary layer interaction (SWBLI) and large-scale separation within the intake become prominent, leading to significant decrease in aerodynamic performance. By introducing a boundary layer suction system, numerical calculations are used to investigate the variations in flow and performance, and to analyze the suction mechanism. Boundary layer suction effectively removes low kinetic energy fluid, reduces the size of the separation bubble size, relieves the pressure gradient, and transforms the bow shock at the inlet into an incident oblique shock. At the same time, the suction device can also increase the total pressure recovery ratio (TPR), and the captured mass flow ratio (CMFR), while reducing the distortion index (DI). In particular, different suction locations and numbers, as well as backpressures, affect the flow field differently. The S2 is key in controlling the cowl-incident shock wave and separating bubble. Its suction action can change the type of shock interaction at the inlet from λ-type to x-type. Therefore, the reasonable setting of suction holes can enhance the aerodynamic performance and operating stability of the intake by optimizing the internal shock wave system.

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the fluid–structure interactions on a compliant panel subjected to an impinging shock wave and an incoming turbulent boundary layer. These experiments were aimed at understanding the time-averaged and unsteady characteristics of fluid–structure interaction at Mach 2. Two shock impingement locations on the panel (aspect ratio of 2.82), namely the central and three-fourths of the panel length, were tested. The shock boundary layer interactions on a rigid flat plate served as a baseline case. Measurements include shadowgraph and surface oil flow visualizations, panel deflections using a capacitance probe, cavity acoustics using a pressure sensor, surface pressures using discrete pressure sensors, and pressure-sensitive paints. Results show that the interaction on the compliant panel is relatively three-dimensional as compared to a rigid plate with a nominally two-dimensional interaction. Pressure fluctuations on the compliant panel are significantly higher than on the rigid plate, and the fluctuation spectra are multi-modal. Strong coupling at some frequencies was observed between the shock and the panel for both shock impingement locations. The present study suggests that for a compliant panel, the shape of pressure spectra is sensitive to the measurement location on the panel, the panel modifies the pressure distribution around the interaction, and the energy in dominant modes depends on the shock impingement location.