Flowfield features on hypersonic flow over rectangular obstacles

The complex separated flows induced by shock wave/boundary layer interaction were studied at hypersonic speed of Mach number 5. The experimental results on hypersonic flow over a set of rectangular cylinders are presented in this paper. The rectangular cylinder mounted on a flat plate worked as a typical model to simulate the obstacle on the vehicle surface. The effects of flow interaction on the aerodynamic characteristics have to be predicted for various geometrical parameters. So the static pressure distributions on the model surface were measured, the complex shock wave system was shown by schlieren photos, and the separated flow patterns around the obstacle were visualized by oil flow technique. All of the results describe the interactive flowfield features including peak pressure levels and their locations as well as separated boundaries associated with influence regions.