Experiments on transitional shock wave--boundary layer interactions at Mach 5

An experimental campaign was carried out to investigate transitional shock wave--boundary layer interactions (SWBLI) at Mach and unit Reynolds numbers of 5 and 15.9 × 10⁶ 1/m, respectively. An impinging shock that generates 7° flow deflection resulted in separated SWBLI flowfield on axisymmetric centrebody. Various flow diagnostics were utilised such as schlieren photography, quantitative infrared thermography, shear sensitive liquid crystals, pressure sensitive paints and particle image velocimetry (PIV) to provide a complete time-averaged experimental data set. One nominally laminar case (with triggered transition due to SWBLI) and four natural transition cases with varying intermittency were tested. Heat transfer and shear stress peaks occurred around the reattachment point. For nominally laminar case, the separation induces transition, and thus, heat transfer and pressure peaks were found to be the highest. For the cases with natural transition with different intermittency levels, where incoming boundary layer is in state of transition, the magnitude of pressure and heat transfer peaks initially started to increase reaching a maximum and afterwards decreased towards the highest intermittency case. The presence of streamwise vortices was apparent for laminar case. Pressure peaks were found to occur slightly downstream of heat flux/shear stress peaks. PIV results (for laminar case only) showed high levels of turbulence above the separation region, proving triggered transition behaviour.