HIFiRE-5 Boundary-Layer Transition Measured in a Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel with Infrared Thermography

Abstract

The principal goal of the Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE) flight 5 is to measure hypersonic boundary-layer transition on a three-dimensional body. This paper presents measurements of heat flux and boundary-layer transition in the Boeing/U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. This facility has been developed to provide quiet flow at high Reynolds number, with low noise levels comparable to flight. Previously, the global heat flux and location of the transition front were measured with temperature-sensitive paint (TSP). A new HIFiRE-5 model was built with a polyether ether ketone shell, which is suitable for infrared–thermographic heat-flux measurements. Quiet-flow tests at Reynolds numbers of and zero angle of attack indicate a centerline transition location within 4% of the earlier TSP results, on the order of the uncertainty of the two techniques. This good agreement reinforces confidence in the earlier measurements and the new infrared-based technique. Examination of the off-centerline transition front indicates that the wavelength of stationary crossflow vortices is the same for both models and instrumentation techniques, although the streaks do not coincide precisely.