A thorough experimental investigation of shock/shock interferences in high Mach number flows

The Types III and IV interference flows, as defined by Edney, and corresponding heat transfer distributions were investigated experimentally. The model consists of a cylindrically blunted plate and a wedge serving as an oblique shock generator. The 'thin wall' technique was used for heat transfer measurements on the cylinder surface. These experiments were carried out in the TsAGI short duration wind tunnel UT-l at Mach numbers 6 and 16 in air and at Mach number 6.6 in carbon dioxide. The Reynolds number based on the plate bluntness diameter was varied in the range 2.2 x 10(4) to 1.6 x 10(6). Tests of the cylinder alone (without the wedge) at Mach number 6 and for different Reynolds numbers revealed an influence of incoming disturbances on the stagnation line heat transfer. The influence of the impinging shock location on the interference heat transfer was carefully investigated. Systematic calculations of inviscid flow at Mach number 6 were also performed. Estimations of the maximum interference heat transfer rate, based on these calculations and a boundary layer approach, compare well with the data. Influence of the specific heat ratio on the interference flow was studied. These experiments and calculations revealed important features of interference flow patterns and heat transfer distributions. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.