Wave processes in the shock layer on a flat plate at an angle of attack

A numerical and experimental study of receptivity of the viscous shock layer on a flat plate aligned at an angle of attack to external acoustic perturbations is performed. Density and pressure fluctuations are measured in experiments at the free-stream Mach number M _∞ = 21 and Reynolds number Re ₁ = 6·10 ⁵ m ⁻¹ . Direct numerical simulations of receptivity of the viscous shock layer to external acoustic perturbations in wide ranges of the governing parameters are performed by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with the use of high-order shock-capturing schemes. The calculated intensities of density and pressure fluctuations are found to be in good agreement with experimental data. Results of the study show that entropy-vortex disturbances dominate in the shock layer at small angles of attack, whereas acoustic perturbations prevail at angles of attack above 20°.     

Controlling the disturbances in a hypersonic flat-plate shock layer by unsteady action from the surface

The results of a wind-tunnel experiment on the joint action of periodic acoustic fast-mode disturbances of the outer flow and disturbances generated at the leading edge of a plate on the hypersonic (M_∞ = 21) viscous shock layer on the plate are presented. The possibility of positively controlling the intensity of density fluctuations in the plate shock layer by means of disturbances introduced from the leading edge is shown. Direct numerical simulation of the suppression (enhancement) of disturbances under the simultaneous action on the shock layer of the two-dimensional fast-mode acoustic waves in the outer flow and the source of two-dimensional suction/injection disturbances near the leading edge of the plate is performed under the experimental conditions. The experimental and calculated results are shown to be in good agreement.     

Disturbance evolution in the leading-edge region of a blunt flat plate in supersonic flow

The spatio-temporal dynamics of small disturbances in viscous supersonic flow over a blunt flat plate at freestream Mach number M_∞=2.5 is numerically simulated using a spectral approximation to the Navier–Stokes equations. The unsteady solutions are computed by imposing weak acoustic waves onto the steady base flow. In addition, the unsteady response of the flow to velocity perturbations introduced by local suction and blowing through a slot in the body surface is investigated. The results indicate distinct disturbance/shock-wave interactions in the subsonic region around the leading edge for both types of forcing. While the disturbance amplitudes on the wall retain a constant level for the acoustic perturbation, those generated by local suction and blowing experience a strong decay downstream of the slot. Furthermore, the results prove the importance of the shock in the distribution of perturbations, which have their origin in the leading-edge region. These disturbance waves may enter the boundary layer further downstream to excite instability modes.     

Numerical simulation of receptivity of a hypersonic boundary layer to acoustic disturbances

Direct numerical simulations of the evolution of disturbances in a viscous shock layer on a flat plate are performed for a free-stream Mach number M _∞ = 21 and Reynolds number Re _L = 1.44 · 10⁵. Unsteady Navier-Stokes equations are solved by a high-order shock-capturing scheme. Processes of receptivity and instability development in a shock layer excited by external acoustic waves are considered. Direct numerical simulations are demonstrated to agree well with results obtained by the locally parallel linear stability theory (with allowance for the shock-wave effect) and with experimental measurements in a hypersonic wind tunnel. Mechanisms of conversion of external disturbances to instability waves in a hypersonic shock layer are discussed. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 84–91, May–June, 2007.     

Numerical modeling of the receptivity of a supersonic boundary layer to acoustic disturbances

The receptivity of a supersonic (M_∞ = 6) boundary layer on a flat plate to acoustic disturbances is investigated on the basis of a numerical solution of the 2D Navier-Stokes equations. Numerical results obtained for fast and slow acoustic waves impinging on the plate at zero angle agree qualitatively with asymptotic theory. Calculations carried out for other angles of incidence of the acoustic waves reveal new features of the perturbation field in the neighborhood of the leading edge of the plate. It is shown that, due to visco-inviscid interaction, the shock formed near the leading edge may significantly affect the acoustic field and the receptivity.     

Numerical modeling of the receptivity of a supersonic boundary layer to entropy disturbances

Numerical modeling of the receptivity of a two-dimensional flat-plate boundary layer to entropy disturbances is carried out at the freestream Mach number M_∞ = 6. Low-intensity perturbations considered are in the form of temperature spots of various shapes and with different initial positions downstream of the shock. They are shown to be able to generate unstable disturbances in the boundary layer. This receptivity mechanism is relatively weak as compared with the receptivity to acoustic waves. When the entropy perturbations are introduced upstream of the bow shock, they first pass across the shock. Downstream of the shock this interaction generates acoustic waves which, in turn, penetrate into the boundary layer thus exciting unstable disturbances of a considerably greater amplitude than the temperature spots. Thus, the bow shock can change the receptivity mechanism.     

Experimental study and direct numerical simulation of the evolution of disturbances in a viscous shock layer on a flat plate

The evolution of disturbances in a hypersonic viscous shock layer on a flat plate excited by slow-mode acoustic waves is considered numerically and experimentally. The parameters measured in the experiments performed with a free-stream Mach number M _∞ = 21 and Reynolds number Re _L = 1.44 · 10⁵ are the transverse profiles of the mean density and Mach number, the spectra of density fluctuations, and growth rates of natural disturbances. Direct numerical simulation of propagation of disturbances is performed by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with a high-order shock-capturing scheme. The numerical and experimental data characterizing the mean flow field, intensity of density fluctuations, and their growth rates are found to be in good agreement. Possible mechanisms of disturbance generation and evolution in the shock layer at hypersonic velocities are discussed. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 3–15, September–October, 2006.     

Effect of sound-absorbing materials on intensity of disturbances in the shock layer on a flat plate aligned at an angle of attack

Results of a numerical and experimental study of characteristics of disturbances in a hypersonic shock layer on a flat plate covered by a sound-absorbing coating and aligned at an angle of attack are presented. Experiments and computations are performed for the free-stream Mach number M _∞ = 21 and Reynolds number Re _L = 6 · 10⁴. A possibility of suppressing pressure fluctuations in the shock layer at frequencies of 20–40 kHz with the use of tubular and porous materials incorporated into the plate surface is demonstrated. Results of numerical simulations are found to be in good agreement with experimental data.     

Generation of the tollmien–schlichting wave in a supersonic boundary layer by two sinusoidal acoustic waves

The problem is solved using parabolized equations of stability for threedimensional perturbations of a compressible boundary layer on a flat plate. Nonlinearity is taken into account by quadratic terms that are most significant in estimates of the viscous critical layer of the stability theory. These terms are determined by the total field of two acoustic perturbations, and the equations become linear and inhomogeneous. The calculations are performed for one acoustic wave being stationary in the reference system fitted to the plate for Mach numbers M=2 and 5. Solutions are presented, which are identified very accurately with Tollmien–Schlichting waves at a rather large distance from the plate edge.     

Nonlinear wave processes in a hypersonic shock layer

Nonlinear disturbance development in a hypersonic flat-plate shock layer (M_∞ = 21, Re _L = 1.44×10⁵) exposed to external-flow slow-mode acoustic perturbations at one or several frequencies is studied on the basis of the numerical solution of the Navier-Stokes equations. The mean flow distortion by disturbances and the nonlinear self-interaction between spectral modes is investigated by varying the initial amplitudes of the acoustic waves introduced. The appearance of combination frequencies, both summarized and subtracted, and their interaction with each other is shown to exist.     

Flutter of infinite elastic plates in the boundary-layer flow at finite Reynolds numbers

The stability of an infinite elastic plate in supersonic gas flow is investigated taking into account the presence of the boundary layer formed on the plate surface. The effect of viscous and temperature disturbances of the boundary layer on the behavior of traveling waves is studied at large but finite Reynolds numbers. It is shown that in the case of the small boundary layer thickness viscosity can have both stabilizing and destabilizing effect depending on the phase velocity of disturbance propagation.     

Non-intrusive generation of instability waves in a planar hypersonic boundary layer

The aim of this work is to show the possibility of non-intrusively exciting second-mode instability waves with arbitrary frequency and amplitude in a hypersonic, planar boundary layer, by means of optical methods. Surface heat flux sensors were used to measure natural and artificially excited instability waves on a flat plate at zero angle of attack. The measurements were made using a stream-wise array of flush-mounted high-frequency heat flux sensors. In addition, surface pressure sensors were applied and show the instability waves, as well. The possibility to generate such waves by locally heating the model surface is shown.     

Three-dimensional receptivity of boundary layers

The paper presents a review of results of some recent (mainly experimental) studies devoted to a quantitative investigation of the problem of receptivity of the 2D and 3D boundary layers with respect to various 3D (in general) external perturbations. The paper concentrates on the mechanisms of excitation and development of stationary and travelling instability modes in a 3D boundary layer on a swept wing, as well as in 2D boundary layers including the Blasius flow and a self-similar boundary layer with an adverse pressure gradient. In particular, the following problems of the boundary-layer receptivity are discussed: (i) receptivity to localized 3D surface roughness, (ii) receptivity to localized 3D surface vibrations, (iii) acoustic receptivity in presence of 3D surface roughness, and (iv) acoustic receptivity in the presence of 3D surface vibrations. All experiments described in the paper were conducted using controlled disturbance conditions with the help of simulation of the stationary and non-stationary perturbations by means of several disturbance generators. This approach gives us the possibility to obtain quantitative results which are independent of any uncontrolled background perturbations of the flow and the experimental model. In contrast to the data obtained at “natural” environmental conditions these results can be directly compared with calculations without any significant assumptions about the physical nature of the disturbances under investigation. The complex (amplitude and phase) coefficients of the boundary-layer receptivity to external perturbations, obtained as functions of the disturbance frequency and the spanwise wavenumber (or the wave propagation angle), represent the main results of the experiments described. These results can be used for the evaluation of the initial amplitudes and phases of the instability modes generated by various external perturbations, as well as for quantitative verification of linear receptivity theories. Several examples of the comparison of experimental results with calculations are also presented in this paper. A brief analysis of the state-of-art in the field is performed and some general properties of different receptivity mechanisms are discussed.     

Effect of disturbances at inlet on hypersonic boundary layer transition on a blunt cone at small angle of attack

To investigate the effect of different disturbances in the upstream, we present numerical simulation of transition for a hypersonic boundary layer on a 5-degree half-angle blunt cone in a freestream with Mach number 6 at 1-degree angle of attack. Evolution of small disturbances is simulated to compare with the linear stability theory （LST）, indicating that LST can provide a good prediction on the growth rate of the disturbance. The effect of different disturbances on transition is investigated. Transition onset distributions along the azimuthal direction are obtained with two groups of disturbances of different frequencies. It shows that transition onset is relevant to frequencies and amplitudes of the disturbances at the inlet, and is decided by the amplitudes of most unstable waves at the inlet. According to the characteristics of environmental disturbances in most wind tunnels, we explain why transition occurs leeside-forward and windside-aft over a circular cone at an angle of attack. Moreover, the indentation phenomenon in the transition curve on the leeward is also revealed.     

Three-wave interactions of disturbances in a hypersonic boundary layer on a porous surface

Interactions of disturbances in a hypersonic boundary layer on a porous surface are considered within the framework of the weakly nonlinear stability theory. Acoustic and vortex waves in resonant three-wave systems are found to interact in the weak redistribution mode, which leads to weak decay of the acoustic component and weak amplification of the vortex component. Three-dimensional vortex waves are demonstrated to interact more intensively than two-dimensional waves. The feature responsible for attenuation of nonlinearity is the presence of a porous coating on the surface, which absorbs acoustic disturbances and amplifies vortex disturbances at high Mach numbers. Vanishing of the pumping wave, which corresponds to a plane acoustic wave on a solid surface, is found to assist in increasing the length of the regions of linear growth of disturbances and the laminar flow regime. In this case, the low-frequency spectrum of vortex modes can be filled owing to nonlinear processes that occur in vortex triplets.     

Experimental investigation into the reaction of a boundary layer to external periodic disturbances

The effect of a concentrated external disturbance on the boundary layer of a plate was investigated in the framework of the reaction of boundary layers to external disturbances. A disturbance localized above the surface of the plate was introduced into the external flow. Measurements revealed the generation of Tollmien—Schlichting waves in the boundary layer; in conjunction with the results of the earlier studies [1, 2], this shows that a concentrated external disturbance is an effective means of generating characteristic oscillations in a boundary layer.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 155–159, July–August, 1980.     

Supersonic flow around the trailing edge of a thin profile

The method of mergeable asymptotic expansions has recently been used effectively in investigations devoted to the study of boundary layer interaction with an external inviscid flow at high subcritical Reynolds numbers Re. The asymptotic analysis permits obtaining a limit pattern of the flow around a solid as Re þ, and determining the similarity and quantitative regularity laws which are in good agreement with experimental results. Thus by using the method of mergeable asymptotic expansions it is shown in [1–4] that near sites with high local curvature of the body contour and flow separation and attachment points, an interaction domain appears that has a small length on the order of Re^-3/8. In this flow domain, which has a three-layer structure, the pressure distribution in a first approximation already depends on the change in boundary-layer displacement thickness, while the induced pressure gradient, in turn, influences the flow in the boundary layer. An analogous situation occurs in the neighborhood of the trailing edge of a flat plate where an interaction domain also appears [5, 6]. The flow in the neighborhood of the trailing edge of a flat plate around which a supersonic viscous gas flows was examined in [7]. Numerical results in this paper show that the friction stress on the plate surface remains positive everywhere in the interaction domain, and grows on approaching the trailing edge. The supersonic flow around the trailing edge of a flat plate at a small angle of attack was investigated in [8, 9], Supersonic flow of a viscous gas in the neighborhood of the trailing edge of a flat plate at zero angle of attack is examined in [10], but with different velocity values in the inviscid part of the flow on the upper and lower sides of the plate. The more general problem of the flow around the trailing edge of a profile with small relative thickness is investigated in this paper.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 3, pp. 36–42, May–June, 1981.     

Interaction of a laminar boundary layer with external turbulence

Transition in the boundary layer on a flat plate in a turbulent flow is investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is established that over a broad range of flow conditions (variation of the intensity and scale of the external turbulence, the angle of attack, the shape of the leading edge, etc.) transition takes place without the formation of Tollmien-Schlichting waves, and its initial stages, including the amplification of disturbances, are described by the linearized unsteady three-dimensional boundary layer equations without a pressure gradient.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 55–65, September–October, 1989.The authors are grateful to N. F. Polyakov, V. S. Kosorygin, and O. S. Ryzhov for useful discussions and to N. N. Bychkov and O. N. Konstantinovskii for assisting with the experiments.     

Streamwise vibrations of a plate in a viscous fluid flow in a channel,induced by forced transverse vibrations of the plate

Aeroelastic vibrations of a plate aligned at a zero angle of attack in a viscous incompressible fluid flow in a channel with parallel walls are considered within the framework of a plane model. Forced vibrations of the plate in the transverse direction give rise an unsteady component of the flow friction force, induced by the perturbation of the fluid flow velocity by the vibrating plate. Under the assumption of the laminar character of the fluid flow, it is demonstrated that this force can excite streamwise vibrations of the plate if the channel width is small as compared with the plate length; these streamwise vibrations have the same order as the transverse vibrations of the plate excited by external forces.     

Unsteady waves in a viscous fluid of finite depth

Here we study the plane and three-dimensional problems of unsteady waves which arise on the surface of a viscous fluid of finite depth under the influence of a velocity pulse applied on the bottom of the basin.The problem is considered as the simplest scheme for studying, with account for the effect of viscosity, the propagation of waves of the tsunami type which result from an underwater shock.Similar problems on the propagation of waves which arise from initial surface disturbances are considered in [1–9].