The fractal measurement of experimental images of supersonic turbulent mixing layer

Abstract

Flow visualization of supersonic mixing layer has been studied based on the high spatiotemporal resolution Nano-based Planar Laser Scattering (NPLS) method in SML-1 wind tunnel. The corresponding images distinctly reproduced the flow structure of laminar, transitional and turbulent region, with which the fractal measurement can be implemented. Two methods of measuring fractal dimension were introduced and compared. The fractal dimension of the transitional region and the fully developing turbulence region of supersonic mixing layer were measured based on the box-counting method. In the transitional region, the fractal dimension will increase with turbulent intensity. In the fully developing turbulent region, the fractal dimension will not vary apparently for different flow structures, which embodies the self-similarity of supersonic turbulence.