STRUCTURE OF A DOUBLE-FIN TURBULENT INTERACTION AT HIGH-SPEED

This study examines the interaction of a Mach 8.3 turbulent boundary layer with intersecting oblique shock waves generated by 15-deg sharp fins mounted symmetrically on a flat plate. The full three-dimensional mass-averaged compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved with a high-resolution implicit finite-volume scheme. Turbulence closure is achieved with variations of the Baldwin-Lomax algebraic model. Excellent agreement with experimental data is observed for plate surface pressure. However, accurate heat transfer rates are obtained only near the plane of symmetry. Some quantitative details are dependent on the manner in which the turbulence model is implemented, Within this limitation, the overall computed mean flow structure remains similar and mesh independent and compares well with available field surveys. The incoming flat plate boundary layer separates along the entire spanwise width and does not reattach in the domain of computation. Beneath the separated boundary layer are a vortex interaction with an off-surface stagnation point, a centerline longitudinal vortex, and an entrainment flow originating from the essentially inviscid stream near the fin leading edge.