Three dimensional shock wave/boundary layer interactions
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Date
2011-11-02
Authors
Mowatt, Sean
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Abstract
An investigation into a three-dimensional, curved shock wave interacting with a three-dimensional,
curved boundary layer on a slender body is presented. Three different nose profiles mounted on a
cylindrical body were tested in a supersonic wind tunnel and numerically simulated by solving the
Navier-Stokes equations. The conical and hemispherical nose profiles tested were found to generate
shock waves of sufficient strength to separate the boundary layer on the cylinder, while the shock
wave generated by the ogival profile did not separate the boundary layer. For the separated flow,
separation was found to occur predominantly on the windward side of the cylinder with the lee-side
remaining shielded from the direct impact of the incident shock wave. A thickening of the boundary
layer on the lee-side of all the profiles was observed. In the conical and hemispherical cases this leads
to the re-formation of the incident shock wave some distance away from the surface of the cylinder. A
complex reflection pattern off the shock wave/boundary layer interaction (SWBLI) was also identified
for the separated flow cases. For comparative purposes an inviscid simulation was performed using
the hemispherical profile. Significant differences between the viscous and inviscid results were noted
including the absence of the boundary layer leading to a simplified shock wave reflection pattern
forming. The behaviour of the incident shock wave on the lee-side of the cylinder was also affected
with the shock wave amalgamating on the surface of the cylinder instead of away from the surface as
per the viscous case. Test data from the wind tunnel identified two separation lines present on the
cylindrical surface of the hemispherical SWBLI generator. The pair of lines were not explicitly
evident in the original CFD simulations run, but were later identified in a high resolution simulation.