Separation bubble shaped control bumps for turbulent oblique shock wave–boundary-layer interactions

Abstract

An experimental investigation of separation bubble shaped control bumps for oblique shock wave–boundary-layer interactions was performed in two supersonic wind tunnel facilities at Mach 2.5 and 2, with incident shock deflection angles of 8° and 12°, respectively, and momentum thickness Reynolds numbers of approximately 1.5 × 10⁴. Shock control bumps were designed to replicate the time-averaged separation bubble shape, and were placed onto the floor in the separation location. This resulted in almost complete elimination of flow separation. There was also a marked improvement in the downstream boundary-layer state. A low-frequency bubble breathing oscillation was identified in the baseline interaction using high-speed shadowgraphy and particle image velocimetry measurements. This oscillation was strongly suppressed in the controlled interactions. Velocity fluctuations in the downstream boundary layer were also significantly reduced. We propose that the key mechanism by which flow separation is eliminated is by breaking down the overall pressure rise into smaller steps, each of which is below the separation threshold. A key feature is the bump crest expansion fan, located near to where the incident shock terminates, which negates the shock induced pressure jump. Thus, the precise bump geometry is critical for control efficacy and should be designed to manage these pressure rise steps as well as the expansion fan strength and location with respect to the incident shock wave. The length of the bump faces must also be sufficiently long for the boundary layer to recover between successive adverse pressure jumps.