The Hypersonic Laminar Boundary Layer Near a Sharp Expansion Corner

Citation

Victoria, Keith Jordis (1969) The Hypersonic Laminar Boundary Layer Near a Sharp Expansion Corner. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/EZX3-M918. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-06172009-151827

Abstract

The integral moment method for treating interactions between a laminar boundary layer and an external supersonic flow is applied to the problem of the hypersonic laminar boundary layer near sharp and slightly rounded convex (expansion) corners. The general features of this type of interacting flow are established by an analytical solution of the integral equations using the method of matched asymptotic expansions for the case of small interaction parameter. Numerical solutions are obtained for flows for which the interaction parameter can no longer be considered small.

An experimental study is carried out in the GALCIT Mach 8 hypersonic wind tunnel in order to study the two-dimensional laminar boundary layer expansion. Major emphasis is placed on the acquisition of detailed data near the corner region. The basic measurements consist of the model surface pressure distribution and pitot pressure surveys of the boundary layer and inviscid flow field between the boundary layer and the leading edge shock wave both upstream and downstream of the corner region. The surface pressure measurements illustrate the striking departure of the flow field at hypersonic speeds from the classical Prandtl-Meyer description.

These data with appropriate assumptions made regarding the static pressure and temperature fields at points away from the model surface allow calculation of the distributions of profile functions defined in the integral moment method formulation. These distributions along with the surface pressure distribution are compared directly with solutions of the moment equations.

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