During atmospheric reentry, hypersonic vehicles are subjected to high levels of boundarylayer pressure fluctuations. To improve understanding and prediction of these fluctuations, measurements of surface pressure fluctuations on a 7 • sharp cone were conducted in Sandia's Hypersonic Wind Tunnel under noisy flow and in Purdue University's Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel under noisy and quiet flow. Fluctuations under laminar boundary layers reflected tunnel noise levels. Laminar boundary-layer measurements under quiet flow were an order of magnitude lower than under noisy flow. Transition on the model only occurred under noisy flow, and fluctuations peaked during transition. The transition location, marked by the peak, was predicted using tunnel noise parameters (Pate's correlation). Turbulent boundary-layer fluctuations were lower than transitional fluctuations and also reflected tunnel noise levels. Measurements of second-mode waves showed the waves started to grow under a laminar boundary layer, saturated, and then broke down near the peak in transitional pressure fluctuations. Nomenclature δ * boundary-layer displacement thickness φ cone azimuthal angle τ w nozzle wall shear stress c tunnel test section circumference c aerodynamic-noise-transition correlation size parameter c 1 test section circumference of a 0.305 × 0.305 m tunnel C F II mean turbulent skin-friction coefficient calculated using method of Van-Driest II M freestream Mach number M e Mach number at boundary-layer edge

The Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel achieved quiet flow to a stagnation pressure of 163 psia in Dec. 2008, the highest value observed so far. It remains quiet at pressures above 160 psia. Under noisy conditions, nozzle-wall boundary-layer separation and the associated tunnel shutdown appear to propagate slowly upstream, whereas under quiet conditions, the propagation is very rapid. A new diffuser insert has been designed, fabricated, and installed in the tunnel in order to start larger blunt models and increase run time. A flared cone with a circular-arc geometry was designed to generate large second-mode N factors under quiet flow conditions. When the computed N factor was 13, large instability waves were measured under quiet flow conditions using fast pressure sensors, but the flow remained laminar. Transition was observed only under noisy conditions. A laminar instability was detected in the wake of an isolated roughness element in the boundary layer on the nozzle wall; this appears to be the first such measurement at hypersonic speeds.

To investigate the pressure-fluctuation field beneath turbulent spots in a hypersonic boundary layer, a study was conducted on the nozzle wall of the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel. Controlled disturbances were created by pulsed-glow perturbations based on the electrical breakdown of air. Under quiet-flow conditions, the nozzle-wall boundary layer remains laminar and grows very thick over the long nozzle length. This allows the development of large disturbances that can be well-resolved with high-frequency pressure transducers. A disturbance first grows into a second-mode instability wavepacket that is concentrated near its own centreline. Weaker disturbances are seen spreading from the centre. The waves grow and become nonlinear before breaking down to turbulence. The breakdown begins in the core of the packets where the wave amplitudes are largest. Second-mode waves are still evident in front of and behind the breakdown point and can be seen propagating in the spanwise direction. The turbulent core grows downstream, resulting in a spot with a classical arrowhead shape. Behind the spot, a low-pressure calmed region develops. However, the spot is not merely a localized patch of turbulence; instability waves remain an integral part. Limited measurements of naturally occurring disturbances show many similar characteristics. From the controlled disturbance measurements, the convection velocity, spanwise spreading angle, and typical pressure-fluctuation field were obtained.

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