Investigation of a compressible turbulent boundary layer and a region of separation at M=5 by a laser Doppler anemometer

Results are cited of an experimental investigation of the structure of a compressible turbulent boundary layer on a thermally insulated cylinder placed longitudinally in the flow. The experiments were conducted at M=5 and Re_x10⁷. In order to establish a longitudinal positive pressure gradient and a region of separation at the end of the cylinder, a tailpiece in the shape of an axisymmetric isentropic compression surface, or conical flaps with various half angles, were mounted. Profiles of the longitudinal velocity component were measured using p_o' and t_o probes, and also using a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) with a Fabry-Perot interferometer. In the absence of a longitudinal pressure gradient the velocity profiles measured by the different methods were in satisfactory agreement among themselves and with the results of calculations. In the presence of a longitudinal positive pressure gradient, the velocity profiles become less filled and the static pressure, calculated according to the results of measurements of the velocity with the aid of the LDA and the pressure p_o', varied across the thickness of the boundary layer. In the separated region, the recirculating velocity of the flow was measured with the aid of the LDA.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 2, pp. 175–178, March–April, 1976.