A cylindrical roughness element was used to introduce instabilities into a laminar nozzle-wall boundary layer in the Purdue Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. A pitot probe, hot-wire probes, and wall-mounted pressure sensors were used to detect an instability in the wake of the roughness. This is the first such instability measured at hypersonic speeds. The instability was observed to grow downstream of the roughness and was strongest off the wake centerline at a height near the roughness height. Computations have confirmed the presence of the instability, which originates upstream of the roughness in the separation region. Further characterization of this instability can assist development and validation of physics-based prediction methods for roughness-induced transition. Nomenclature D = cylindrical roughness diameter, mm k = cylindrical roughness height, mm p 0 = tunnel stagnation pressure, kPa p 0;i = tunnel stagnation pressure at the beginning of the run, kPa Re k = Reynolds number based on roughness height k and local conditions in the undisturbed laminar boundary layer at the height k, k u k k= k Re 1 = freestream unit Reynolds number, 1=m T w = tunnel wall temperature, K T 0 = tunnel stagnation temperature, K T 0;i = tunnel stagnation temperature at the beginning of the run, K t = tunnel run time, s x = spanwise distance from the center of the roughness y = height above wall y i = initial height of probe above the wall z = tunnel axial coordinate (0 at throat) z 0 = axial coordinate of the roughness (1.924 m) = boundary-layer thickness, defined as the height where the local velocity is 99.5% of the freestream value
Roughness can cause a boundary layer to become turbulent, increasing aeroheating from the laminar rate. Empirical correlations are currently extrapolated to predict the onset of roughness-induced transition but are only simple approximations of the flow physics that cause it. More accurate physics-based prediction methods must be developed, based on the growth of instabilities within the wake of the roughness. A cylindrical roughness element was used to introduce instabilities into a laminar nozzle-wall boundary layer in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Pitot and hot-wire probes were used to measure an instability in the wake of the roughness. These measurements are believed to be the first at hypersonic speeds. The instability was observed to grow downstream of the roughness and was strongest off the wake centerline at a height near the roughness height. Mean-flow pitot pressures in the wake of the roughness were recorded for comparison to future computations of the wake. Further characterization of this instability can assist development and validation of a physics-based prediction method for roughness-induced transition.
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