In a rectangular supersonic inlet the first oblique shock wave will interact with both the sidewall boundary layers and with the corner flows. This can create large, complex 3-D separation zones that reduce the effective flow area and can lead to the unstart of the inlet. Experiments were conducted in the Michigan Glass Wind Tunnel at Mach 2.75 and at Mach 2.0 to quantify these flow separation patterns. Video was recorded of the unsteady formation of separation zones as the inlet starts. Oil streak patterns and Schlieren images indicate that the downward flow caused by the oblique shock forces some of the flow near the corner to move upstream. This flow moving upstream in the corner creates a sidewall separation bubble, which significantly deflects the free stream upstream of the shock wave. Using a six-degree wedge, a "small" corner flow-shock boundary layer interaction (CF-SBLI) separated region was created which was found to be optimum for CFD simulation. Using a ten-degree wedge generated a stronger shock and a "large" CF-SBLI separated region, but the flow area was reduced so much that the inlet was too close to unstart to allow for stable experimental measurements or CFD simulation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.