Shock boundary layer interactions in dense gases

Abstract

The concept of triple deck theory is applied to study laminar interacting boundary layers of dense gases in external purely supersonic flow. An impinging shock is generated at distances which are large compared to the upper deck thickness. As predicted by weakly nonlinear theory such a discontinuity may disintegrate into a sonic shock and an associated wave fan depending on its amplitude and the magnitude of the so called fundamental derivative. Incoming and outgoing waves are computed analytically by means of the method of multiple scales taking into account that mutual interaction effects between them are restricted to the linear upper deck region. The lower deck problem is solved numerically. The results show that it is possible to reduce the size of the separation bubble or even to avoid the occurrence of flow separation by choosing an optimal thermodynamic state. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)