Evolution of a 2-D disturbance in a supersonic boundary layer and the generation of shocklets

Abstract

Through direct numerical simulation, the evolution of a 2-D disturbance in a supersonic boundary layer has been investigated. At a chosen location, a small amplitude TS wave was fed into the boundary layer to investigate its evolution. Characteristics of nonlinear evolution have been found. Two methods were applied for the detection of shocklets, and it was found that when the amplitude of the disturbance reached a certain value, shocklets would be generated, which should be taken into consideration when nonlinear theory of hydrodynamic stability for compressible flows is to be established.