Numerical studies of shock wave interactions with a supersonic turbulent boundary layer in compression corner:Turning angle effects

Abstract Direct numerical simulations (DNS) were performed to investigate the interactions of a Mach 2.9 turbulent boundary layer with shock waves of varying strengths in compression corner. The supersonic turbulent boundary layer was triggered by wall blowing-and-suction perturbations. The shock waves were produced by two-dimensional compression corners of 8, 14, 20 and 24°. Compared with previous DNS results and experimental data, the numerical calculations were validated. The effects of shock wave on the boundary layer are studied by both flow visualizations and statistical analysis, and the results show that the intensity of fluctuations is amplified greatly by the shock wave. With the increasing of turning angle, three-dimensionality of separation bubble is significantly enhanced. Based on the statistics and power spectrum of the wall pressure signals, the effect of turning angle on the unsteadiness of shock motion is also studied, and the results show that the shock motions are quite different in the small and the large turning angle cases. The motion in the 8° and 14° cases is characterized by high-frequency and small-amplitude, but the low-frequency and large-scale streamwise oscillation is the main feature in the 20° and 24° cases. The effect of turning angle on the turbulence state is analyzed by using the anisotropy of Reynolds stress tensor. The coherent vortex structures are also studied qualitatively. The results indicate that the cane-like streamwise vortexes in the near-wall region are the dominant structure for the small angle cases, while the hairpin vortexes and packets in the outer layer play the leading role in the large angle cases. According to the quantitative analysis of turbulent kinetic energy budgets in the separation region, the effect of turning angle on the transport mechanism is studied. It is found that the influence of shear layer above separation bubble on the mechanism is significant.