Incipient separation in shock wave/boundary layer interactions as induced by sharp fin
The incipient separation induced by the shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction at the sharp fin is the subject of the present study. Existing theories for the prediction of incipient separation, such as those put forward by McCabe (1966) and Dou and Deng (1992), can thus far only predic the direction of surface streamline and tend to overpredict the incipient separation condition based on the Stanbrook’s criterion. In this paper, the incipient separation is first predicted with Dou and Deng (1992)’s theory and then compared with Lu and Settles’ (1990) experimental data. The physical mechanism of the incipient separation as induced by the shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions at sharp fin is explained via surface flow pattern analysis. Furthermore, the reason for the observed discrepancy between the predicted and experimental incipient separation conditions is clarified. It is found that when the wall-limiting streamlines behind the shock wave becomes aligned with one ray from the virtual origin as the strength of the shock wave increases, the incipient separation line is formed at which the wall-limiting streamline becomes perpendicular to the local pressure gradient. The formation of this incipient separation line is the beginning of the separation process. The effects of Reynolds number and Mach number on incipient separation are also discussed. Finally, a correlation for the correction of the incipient separation angle as predicted by the theory is also given.
Quasiconical free interaction between a swept shock and a turbulent boundary layer
Previous observations that fin-generated interactions are quasiconical in nature were further confirmed by surface pressure measurements spanning Mach 2.5-3.5, which encompassed unseparated through strongly separated interactions. For strongly separated interactions in which the shock wave is bifurcated into a X.-foot structure, the conical free interaction hypothesis was validated through an appropriate scaling of the far-field surface pressure distribution. The behavior of the \-foot structure, such as the decrease of the slope of the separation shock with interaction strength, was explained by invoking the conical free interaction hypothesis. Through the conical free interaction hypothesis, it was further shown that the triple-shock intersection behaves in a complicated manner with changes in interaction strength.
On the quasi-conical flowfield structure of the swept shock wave-turbulent boundary layer interaction
The swept oblique shock-wave/turbulent-boundary-layer interaction generated by a 20-deg sharp fin at Mach 4 and Reynolds number 21,000 is investigated via a series of computations using both conical and three-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations with turbulence incorporated through the algebraic turbulent eddy viscosity model of Baldwin-Lomax. Results are compared with known experimental data, and it is concluded that the computed three-dimensional flowfield is quasi-conical (in agreement with the experimental data), the computed three-dimensional and conical surface pressure and surface flow direction are in good agreement with the experiment, and the three-dimensional and conical flows significantly underpredict the peak experimental skin friction. It is pointed out that most of the features of the conical flowfield model in the experiment are observed in the conical computation which also describes the complete conical streamline pattern not included in the model of the experiment.