Effect of Small Bluntness on Formation of Görtler Vortices in a Supersonic Compression Corner Flow

Abstract

The influence of small cylindrical bluntness of the leading edge of a flat plate on formation of spatial structures in a nominally two-dimensional supersonic compression corner flow at the Mach number M∞ ≈ 8 and a laminar state of the undisturbed boundary layer is studied by the method of temperature-sensitive paints. Streamwise vortices are found in the region of reattachment of the separated flow in a wide range of Reynolds numbers (0.15 · 10⁶–2.55 · 10⁶) for various angles of flow deflection and plate lengths. It is demonstrated that the existence of these vortices induces spanwise oscillations of the heat transfer coefficient; the amplitude of these oscillations may reach 30%. The maximum deviations of the Stanton number reaching 80% are observed in the case with significant roughness of the leading edge of the flat plate. Both the maximum Stanton numbers in the reattachment region and the amplitude of spanwise oscillations of the Stanton number induced by streamwise vortices are found to decrease significantly in the case of small bluntness of the leading edge. Solutions of three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations are obtained for some test conditions. The computed results are in good agreement with experimental data, which points to a significant stabilizing effect of small bluntness on the intensity of streamwise vortices.