Response of a supersonic turbulent boundary layer to different streamwise adverse pressure gradients

Abstract

An adverse pressure gradient (APG) has an impact on the boundary layer, increasing the turbulent intensity of the layer. The mean and turbulent properties of the turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate with different APGs were investigated at Mach 2.7 in the present work utilizing the particle image velocimetry and nanoparticle-based planar laser scattering techniques. According to analysis, the changing trends of boundary layer parameters are different depending on whether the local mainstream velocity or freestream velocity of the wind tunnel is used to normalize. Using the former might make the enhanced effect of the rising APG more visible. With the rise in APG, the principal strain rate, turbulent fluctuation, Reynolds stress, and turbulence production in the boundary layer all increased, while the turbulent boundary layer's thickness dropped. Furthermore, the heightened upward ejection and downward sweep events caused the streamwise turbulence intensity to reach its outer peak under the influence of strong APG. The characteristics of the spanwise vortex in the boundary layer are investigated in conjunction with the probability density function analysis. The growing APG, which primarily promote negative vorticity, can strengthen the rotational strength of spanwise vortices, which are a component of hairpin vortices. As APG rises, the number of small-scale vortices in the boundary layer increases and the fractal dimension grows. The increase in small-scale vortices tends to induce strong transportation and promotes turbulence intensity. Further investigation reveals that the increased volume change caused by the enhanced compression effect with increasing APG exacerbated the vorticity.