Leading-edge bluntness effects in high enthalpy, hypersonic compression corner flow

Abstract

An experimental study of the combined effects of leading-edge bluntness and real gas behavior on shock wave/boundary-layer interaction has been performed. Pressure and heat transfer distributions have been measured over a compression corner for a range of corner angles, including the datum case of flat plate flow. On the flat plate and upstream of the corner, the pressure and heat transfer for the blunt leading-edge configuration were found to lie above the corresponding sharp leading values. On the ramp, there was a considerable reduction in the pressure and heat transfer when the leading edge was blunt. Also, the extent of the interaction was seen to be smaller with the blunt leading edge. These results are similar to those from perfect gas studies. The differences between the sharp and blunt leading-edge data appear to be less pronounced at the higher enthalpy. This is thought likely to be because of the reduced shock standoff, which occurs as a result of dissociation. A comparison between the heat transfer data on the ramp face and predictions from the generalized reference enthalpy theory was seen to be reasonable. The upstream influence and plateau pressure were found to be in fair agreement with data from low enthalpy experiments. A C CD c d h hr L lu M n Pr p qw Rex