Numerical Simulation of a Flat-Plate Hypersonic Shock Layer Perturbed by External Acoustic Waves

Abstract

In high-velocity high-altitude flight, the thick boundary layer on the surface of a flying vehicle merges with the bow shock wave so that, even at a large distance from a leading edge, they may form the so-called viscous shock layer (VSL). Like the boundary layer, the laminar VSL is unstable, and flow disturbances arising and developing in this layer induce its transition to the turbulent flow regime. However, the mechanisms governing their emergence and development in the hypersonic VSL may differ substantially from those investigated in supersonic flows with lower Mach numbers [1, 2]. A better understanding of the receptivity and instability mechanisms is a necessary condition for the development of efficient methods for controlling the laminar-turbulent transition in a hypersonic flow around flying vehicles.