Experimental investigations on the effect of energy deposition in hypersonic blunt body flow field

We describe here an experimental study on the effect of energy deposition in the flow field of a 120° blunt cone, carried out in a hypersonic shock tunnel. The energy deposition is realised using an electric arc discharge generated between two electrodes placed in the free stream, and various parameters influencing the effectiveness of this technique is studied. The experimental observations suggest that the location of energy deposition has a vital role in dictating the flow structure, with no noticeable effects being produced on the flow field when the discharge was located close to the body (0.416 times body diameter). In addition, the nature of the test gas and the free stream density are also identified as important parameters. In these experiments, a maximum drag reduction of ~50% and ~84% reduction in stagnation point heating rate has been observed as a result of energy addition. The experimental evidence also indicates that the relaxation of the internal degrees of freedom plays a major role in the alteration of the hypersonic blunt body flow structure and that under the specific conditions encountered in our experiments, the energy deposition is not strong enough to create a shock on its own, but the heated region behind the energy source interacts with the blunt body shock resulting in the flow field alteration.      

Reduction of Peak Heat Fluxes by Supplying Heat to the Free Stream

A supersonic flow past a blunt body in the presence of an incident oblique shock wave is considered. It is shown that by supplying heat to the free stream it is possible substantially to reduce local heat flux peaks on the body surface. The integral heat flux on the body surface increases by only a small fraction of the heat released into the flow.     

Generalization of the blunt-body problem in nonuniform supersonic flowfields

The properties of the steady-state gas flow in the shock layer associated with a blunt body immersed in a supersonic stream with an arbitrary shear-like nonuniformity are studied.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 164–170, March–April, 1996.     

The blunt-body problem in a nonuniform hypersonic viscous gas flow

The laws of heat transfer associated with the interaction of underexpanded supersonic gas jets and obstacles or blunt bodies have been investigated, for example, in [1–3]. Similar problems of nonuniform flow occur when bodies move in the wake behind other bodies; however, in this case the laws of heat transfer have so far received little attention [4–8]. It has been established that for a certain Reynolds number and flow nonuniformity parameters a zone of reverse-circulatory flow develops near the front of the blunt body. However, the conditions of transition to separated flow have not been determined. This paper presents a self-similar solution of the equations of the viscous shock layer near the stagnation line in supersonic flow past an axisymmetric blunt body located behind another body. On the basis of this solution a separationless flow criterion is proposed. The effect of the nonuniformity and the Reynolds number on the shock standoff distance, the convective heat flux and the friction drag of the blunt body is investigated. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 120–125, November–December, 1986. In conclusion the authors wish to thank I. G. Eremeitsev for useful suggestions and G. A. Tirskii for discussing their work.     

Hyperbolic Approximation of the Navier-Stokes Equations for Viscous Mixed Flows

Simplified two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations of the hyperbolic type are derived for viscous mixed (with transition through the sonic velocity) internal and external flows as a result of a special splitting of the pressure gradient in the predominant flow direction into hyperbolic and elliptic components. The application of these equations is illustrated with reference to the calculation of Laval nozzle flows and the problem of supersonic flow past blunt bodies. The hyperbolic approximation obtained adequately describes the interaction between the stream and surfaces for internal and external flows and can be used over a wide Mach number range at moderate and high Reynolds numbers. Examples of the calculation of viscous mixed flows in a Laval nozzle with large longitudinal throat curvature and in a shock layer in the neighborhood of a sphere and a large-aspect-ratio hemisphere-cylinder are given. The problem of determining the drag coefficient of cold and hot spheres is solved in a new formulation for supersonic air flow over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. In the case of low and moderate Reynolds numbers a drag reduction effect is detected when the surface of the sphere is cooled.     

Numerical heat transfer study around a spiked blunt-nose body at Mach 6

An aerospike attached to a blunt body significantly alters its flowfield and influences aerodynamic drag at high speeds. The dynamic pressure in the recirculation area is highly reduced and this leads to the decrease in the aerodynamic drag. Consequently, the geometry of the aerospike has to be simulated in order to obtain a large conical recirculation region in front of the blunt body to get beneficial drag reduction. Axisymmetric compressible Navier–Stokes equations are solved using a finite volume discretization in conjunction with a multistage Runge–Kutta time stepping scheme. The effect of the various types of aerospike configurations on the reduction of aerodynamic drag is evaluated numerically at a length to diameter ratio of 0.5, at Mach 6 and at a zero angle of incidence. The computed density contours are showing satisfactory agreement with the schlieren pictures. The calculated pressure distribution on the blunt body compares well with the measured pressure data on the blunt body. Flowfield features such as formation of shock waves, separation region and reattachment point are examined for the flat-disc spike and on the hemispherical disc spike attached to the blunt body. One of the critical heating areas is at the stagnation point of a blunt body, where the incoming hypersonic flow is brought to rest by a normal shock and adiabatic compression. Therefore, the problem of computing the heat transfer rate near the stagnation point needs a solution of the entire flowfield from the shock to the spike body. The shock distance ahead of the hemisphere and the flat-disc is compared with the analytical solution and a good agreement is found between them. The influence of the shock wave generated from the spike is used to analyze the pressure distribution, the coefficient of skin friction and the wall heat flux facing the spike surface to the flow direction.     

Role of the absorption of radiation ahead of a shock wave with hypersonic flow around a blunt body

A study was made of conditions at the front of a strong shock wave taking account of the absorption of leading radiation. Emphasis is laid on the role of the dimensionless parameters which arise under these circumstances, and an evaluation is made of the values of these parameters for a number of practically important cases involving the entry of blunt bodies into dense layers of the Earth's atmosphere. Calculations are carried out to determine the composition and the parameters of the flow of molecular nitrogen entering into the shock wave, and conclusions are drawn with respect to the general problem of hypersonic flow around a blunt body, taking radiation into account. In an investigation of the flow of a hypersonic stream of air around a blunt body, taking account of radiation, it is necessary to have some idea of how the radiation leaving the zone of the shock wave reacts with the oncoming flow of cold air. The importance of taking this reaction into account is indicated by the results of observation of the reentry of spacecraft into dense layers of the atmosphere [1], and by existing experimental data on strong shock waves [2]. This reaction is bound up with the fact that the absorption of intense short-wave radiation from the shock wave in cold air leads to photodissociation and photoionization of the molecules of air, i.e., to an actual increase in the enthalpy of the air. Some of the general questions of the structure of a very strong direct shock wave, taking account of the absorption of radiation leading the wave front, have been investigated in [3],Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 40–47, November–December, 1970.     

Hypersonic three-dimensional viscous shock layer in a nonuniform gas flow in the neighborhood of the stagnation point

Three-dimensional hypersonic viscous gas flow past smooth blunt bodies in the presence of injection or suction is considered. The effect of the nonuniformity of the approach stream on the shock-wave standoff, the flow structure and the friction and heat transfer coefficients is investigated with reference to the examples of flow from a supersonic spherical source and flow of the far wake type. It is shown that this effect depends importantly on the Reynolds number, the nature of the nonuniformity and the shape of the body.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 136–145, November–December, 1987.     

超声速钝体逆向喷流减阻的数值模拟研究

为研究逆向喷流技术对超声速钝体减阻的影响,采用标准k-ε湍流模型,通过求解二维Navier-Stokes方程对超声速球头体逆向冷喷流流场进行了数值模拟,并着重分析了喷口总压、喷口尺寸对流场模态和减阻效果的影响。计算结果显示:随着喷流总压的变化,流场可出现两种流动模态,即长射流穿透模态和短射流穿透模态;喷流能使球头体受到的阻力明显减小;存在最大减阻临界喷流总压值(在所研究参数范围内最大减阻可达51.1%);在其它喷流物理参数不变时,随着喷口尺寸的增大,同一流动模态下的减阻效果下降。本文的研究对超声速钝体减阻技术在工程上的应用具有一定的参考价值。     

Effects of free‐stream turbulence on large‐scale coherent structures of separated boundary layer transition

It has been well established that large‐scale structures, usually called coherent structures, exist in many transitional and turbulent flows. The topology and range of scales of those large‐scale structures vary from flow to flow such as counter‐rotating vortices in wake flows, streaks and hairpin vortices in turbulent boundary layer. There has been relatively little study of large‐scale structures in separated and reattached transitional flows. Large‐eddy simulation (LES) is employed in the current study to investigate a separated boundary layer transition under 2% free‐stream turbulence on a flat plate with a blunt leading edge. The Reynolds number based on the inlet free stream velocity and the plate thickness is 6500. A dynamic subgrid‐scale model is employed to compute the subgrid‐scale stresses more accurately in the current transitional flow case. Flow visualization has shown that the Kelvin–Helmholtz rolls, which have been so clearly visible under no free‐stream turbulence (NFST) are not as apparent in the present study. The Lambda‐shaped vortical structures which can be clearly seen in the NFST case can hardly be identified in the free‐stream turbulence (FST) case. Generally speaking, the effects of free‐stream turbulence have led to an early breakdown of the boundary layer, and hence increased the randomization in the vortical structures, degraded the spanwise coherence of those large‐scale structures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Unsteady flow around models in an electromagnetic shock tube

Results of experimental studies of the unsteady flow around models of a stream moving behind the front of a very strong shock wave excited in an electromagnetic shock tube are presented. The flow establishment time in the stagnation-point region of blunt bodies is found.     

Influence of boundary layer on unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of blunt cones in a supersonic flow

A study is made of the influence of the boundary layer on the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of blunt cones oscillating in a supersonic gas stream about zero angle of attack. A solution to the problem is constructed in the framework of the linear theory of bodies of finite thickness. Such an approach has been used [1–3] in the case of the equations of motion of an ideal gas to calculate the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of sharp and blunt bodies of various configurations. The influence on these characteristics of the viscosity effects due to the presence on the surface of the body of a laminar boundary layer has been taken into account [4–6] for bodies of the simplest shapes (wedge, cone). The present paper considers the unsteady aerodynamic characteristics of cones and investigates the influence of rounding of the tips and laminar and turbulent flow regimes in the boundary layer.     

Magnetohydrodynamic interaction in hypersonic air flow past a blunt body

Hypersonic MHD air flow past a blunt body in the presence of an external magnetic field is considered. The MHD effect on the flow consists in a significant increase in the shock wave stand-off from the body surface and a significant reduction in the heat flux to the wall (up to 50%). It is shown that even in the presence of a strong Hall effect the intensity of the magnetohydrodynamic interaction in the plasma behind the shock wave remains at a high level commensurable with the ideal case of the absence of a Hall effect.     

Supersonic flow over elongated blunt bodies with a cross section of elliptical shape

Up to now computational algorithms have been developed for, and systematic studies have been made of, supersonic flow over axisymmetric bodies both by a stream of ideal gas and by an air stream with equilibrium and nonequilibrium physicochemical transformations [1–6]. Conical flows around bodies having cross sections of different shapes and in a wide range of angles of attack have been studied in detail [7–11]. With the further development of numerical methods the next problem has become the analysis of supersonic flow over blunt bodies of large elongation having cross sections of sufficiently arbitrary shape. The effects of essentially three-dimensional flow (without planes of symmetry) over bodies whose cross sections represent ellipses with a constant or variable ratio of axes along the length of the body are discussed in the present paper.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6. pp. 155–159, November–December, 1976.     

钝头体高超声速绕流底部失稳特征数值模拟

利用数值模拟方法对高超声速钝锥及Apollo返回舱底部尾迹流场进行了研究, 分析尾迹流动的失稳过程. 对钝锥模型, 在M_∞=6, Re=1.71× 10⁶(Re以球头半径为参考长度)条件下观察到了底部流动的不稳定性. 不添加任何扰动, 数值模拟首先得到的流动是稳定解, 在底部发展出一个主分离区和一个二次分离区, 流动是轴对称状态. 继续进行计算, 发现二次分离线率先变形, 底部流场发展出非定常周期流动. 对Apollo返回舱模型, 在相同条件下 (Re以前面圆弧半径为参考长度), 数值模拟首先得到的流动同样是稳定解, 出现以二次分离线率先变形为起始的结构失稳, 演化出周期性过程, 但持续时间较短, 很快出现了非周期非对称状态. 研究表明, 高超声速钝锥及Apollo返回舱底部流场均存在不稳定性问题, Apollo返回舱的底部流场更加不稳定.     

Hypersonic flow of nonequilibrium air over blunt bodies

A numerical method is described for computing nonequilibrium three-dimensional supersonic flow of a gas in the shock layer over the forward surface of blunt bodies with discontinuities of shape. The basic idea is to divide the original system of differential equations into two subsystems, which are solved in succession: first for the gasdynamic variables, the velocity components and the pressure, and then for the relaxation parameters and the enthalpy. To calculate the velocity components and the pressure we use the iterative marching method [1, 2] in the form given in [3]. The relaxation equations and the enthalpy equation are integrated numerically along the stream lines. A discussion is given of the effect of nonequilibrium of physical and chemical reactions on the distribution of parameters in the inviscid shock layer and on the aerodynamic coefficients of blunt bodies in hypersonic air flow. The unsteady aerodynamic coefficients are calculated by the curved body method [4]. The computational algorithm takes the form of a program in “ALGOL-60” for the BéSM-6 computer.     

Interaction between an external compression shock and a blunt body in a hypersonic stream

A complex shock configuration with two triple points can occur during the interaction between an external oblique compression shock and the detached shock ahead of a blunt body (for instance, ahead of a wing or stabilizer edge). This results in the formation of a high-pressure, low-entropy supersonic gas jet [1–6]. Here two flow modes are possible [1], which differ substantially in the intensity of the thermal and dynamic effects of the stream on the blunt body: mode I corresponds to the impact of a supersonic jet [2–6], while the supersonic jet in mode II does not reach the body surface in the domain of shock interaction because of curvature under the effect of a pressure drop. Conditions for the realization of the above-mentioned flow modes are investigated experimentally and theoretically, and an approximate method is proposed to determine the magnitude of the compression shock standoff in the interaction domain. Blunt bodies with plane and cylindrical leading edges are examined. The results of a computation agree satisfactorily with experimental data.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 97–103, January–February, 1976.The author is grateful to V. V. Lunev for discussing the research and for useful remarks.     

Reducing the pressure drag of a D-shaped bluff body using linear feedback control

The pressure drag of blunt bluff bodies is highly relevant in many practical applications, including to the aerodynamic drag of road vehicles. This paper presents theory revealing that a mean drag reduction can be achieved by manipulating wake flow fluctuations. A linear feedback control strategy then exploits this idea, targeting attenuation of the spatially integrated base (back face) pressure fluctuations. Large-eddy simulations of the flow over a D-shaped blunt bluff body are used as a test-bed for this control strategy. The flow response to synthetic jet actuation is characterised using system identification, and controller design is via shaping of the frequency response to achieve fluctuation attenuation. The designed controller successfully attenuates integrated base pressure fluctuations, increasing the time-averaged pressure on the body base by 38%. The effect on the flow field is to push the roll-up of vortices further downstream and increase the extent of the recirculation bubble. This control approach uses only body-mounted sensing/actuation and input–output model identification, meaning that it could be applied experimentally.     

Stagnation region of a blunt body in two-phase hypersonic flow

The fluid-mechanics equations of a two-velocity, two-temperature medium are used to investigate flow near the stagnation point of a blunt body washed by a hypersonic stream of gas containing solid or liquid deformed particles. The effect of particles of the gasdynamic flow parameters is analyzed. A relaxation layer was found to occur near the body, with marked changes in the gas parameters. It is shown that the presence of particles in the flow reduces the shock stand-off distance. The results of computations on the dynamics and heating of particles in the shock layer are discussed. A solution in finite form is obtained in the limiting case of fine particles by the method of asymptotic expansions. The motion of solid or liquid particles in hypersonic shock layers has been the subject of several papers [1–6], in which particle dynamics was examined, assuming that the particles have a negligible influence on the gasdynamic flow parameters. The solutions obtained are therefore limited to the case of low mass particle concentration in the incident flow. A numerical solution not subject to this limitation was obtained in [7] for supersonic two-phase flow over a wedge.     

The effect of nonequilibrium dissociation on boundary layer flow

The effect of nonequilibrium non-Arrhenius dissociation kinetics, which cannot be reduced to two-temperature kinetics, on the microparameter distribution in a boundary layer and, in particular, on the heat transfer to the surface of the body is considered with reference to the flow of a binary mixture of nitrogen molecules and nitrogen atoms in the neighborhood of the stagnation point on a blunt body.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 168–178, July–August, 1995.