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Pressure fluctuations beneath instability wavepackets and turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2014

Katya M. Casper ,
Steven J. Beresh  and
Steven P. Schneider
Katya M. Casper*
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Steven J. Beresh
Affiliation:
Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185, USA
Steven P. Schneider
Affiliation:
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: kmcaspe@sandia.gov
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Abstract

To investigate the pressure-fluctuation field beneath turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer, a study was conducted on the nozzle wall of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Controlled disturbances were created by pulsed-glow perturbations based on the electrical breakdown of air. Under quiet-flow conditions, the nozzle-wall boundary layer remains laminar and grows very thick over the long nozzle length. This allows the development of large disturbances that can be well-resolved with high-frequency pressure transducers. A disturbance first grows into a second-mode instability wavepacket that is concentrated near its own centreline. Weaker disturbances are seen spreading from the centre. The waves grow and become nonlinear before breaking down to turbulence. The breakdown begins in the core of the packets where the wave amplitudes are largest. Second-mode waves are still evident in front of and behind the breakdown point and can be seen propagating in the spanwise direction. The turbulent core grows downstream, resulting in a spot with a classical arrowhead shape. Behind the spot, a low-pressure calmed region develops. However, the spot is not merely a localized patch of turbulence; instability waves remain an integral part. Limited measurements of naturally occurring disturbances show many similar characteristics. From the controlled disturbance measurements, the convection velocity, spanwise spreading angle, and typical pressure-fluctuation field were obtained.

JFM classification

Aerodynamics: High-speed flow Instability: Instability Instability: Transition to turbulence
Type
Papers
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 756 , 10 October 2014 , pp. 1058 - 1091
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2014. This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. 

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