Investigations of Density Field of a Flat Plate Shock Wave Boundary Layer Interaction at Hypersonic Speeds Using BOS

Abstract

Shock wave boundary layer interaction with leading-edge bluntness problem has great effect on the performance of the aerospace vehicles. Strong interactions of the shock wave with the boundary layer lead to separation of the boundary layer and unsteadiness in the flow. These effects increase drag and reduce the efficiency of the nozzles. Moreover, the leading-edge bluntness influences the separation length of the flow. The objective of the present work is to obtain quantitative information of density flow field to understand the flow physics in a shock wave boundary layer interaction at hypersonic flow. Background-Oriented Schlieren (BOS) technique was used to map the density flow field. Based on earlier studies, a flat plate with sharp and blunt leading edge at M∞ = 5 was chosen. Separation length correlations based on the surface pressure measurements obtained from the previous studies were compared with the density flow field correlations.