Experimental study on the heat flux of transitional shock wave–boundary layer interaction at Mach 6

Abstract

The shock wave–boundary layer interaction (SWBLI) phenomenon was investigated experimentally to explore the heat flux distribution characteristics of SWBLIs under different boundary layer flow regimes and the influence/mechanism of different transition positions on peak heat flux of SWBLI. Experiments were conducted in a flow of Mach number 6. The shock generator deflected the flow by 20 °, 22 °, 25 ° and 30 ° resulting in an oblique shock impinging on a flat plate. The rough elements with different heights were arranged to achieve different transition positions. The influence of the relative position of transition and interference zone on the peak heat flux and its physical mechanism are revealed. The results demonstrated that the transitional SWBLI has a higher peak heat flux than the turbulent SWBLI, however the overshoot phenomenon is not reflected in the peak pressure. The increment of heat flux peak in transitional SWBLI is related to the relative positions of transition and interference zones. The increment of heat flux peak of transitional SWBLI compared to turbulent SWBLI can reach 25.5–38.9% and 51.9–65.1% when transition approaches the separation zone and reattachment zone, respectively. This overshoot phenomenon is caused by the streamwise vortex in transitional and so-called laminar SWBLIs, which enhances the energy exchange in the boundary layer and leads to an increase in heat flux. However, in the turbulent SWBLI, the energy mixing in the boundary layer is not significantly enhanced due to the breakup of the large scale streamwise vortex into turbulent small-scale structure.