Three-dimensional boundary-layer transition on a cone at Mach 3.5

A boundary-layer transition study on a sharp, 5° half-angle cone at various angles of attack was conducted at Mach 3.5. Transition data were obtained with and without significantly reduced freestream acoustic disturbance levels. A progressive downstream and upstream motion of the transition front on the windward and leeward rays, respectively, of the cone with angle of attack was observed for the high noise level data in agreement with data trends obtained in conventional (noisy) wind tunnels. However, the downstream movement was not observed to the same degree for the low noise level data in the present study. Transition believed to be crossflow dominated was found to be less receptive to freestream acoustic disturbances than first-mode (Tollmien-Schlichting) dominated transition. The previously-developed crossflow transition Reynolds number criterion, _tr,max 200, was found to be inadequate for the current case. An improved criterion is offered, which includes compressibility and flow-geometry effects.