Numerical and experimental investigations of flow features over a wedge exposed to supersonic flow at high Reynolds numbers

Abstract

Numerical simulation tools and experimental measurement techniques are required to provide accurate description of flow features in application relevant scales and boundary conditions enroute to realizing the design and integration of high-speed arial platforms. A case of 10° wedge exposed to Mach 3.5 supersonic flow at high Reynolds numbers provides an opportunity to conduct a comparative analysis between the numerical and experimental tools that are suitable for investigation of application relevant scales. Due to its superior scalability and the recently advanced sensitivity and resolution range, background oriented schlieren is utilized to provide non-intrusive quantification of density varying flow features. On the other hand, the numerical simulations are performed by means of two main turbulence treatment schemes of Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) and large eddy simulations (LES) employing k–ω shear stress transport turbulence and localized dynamic k-equation sub-grid scale models, respectively. Although the lower computational cost of RANS is referred to as an advantage over LES in large scale simulations, the accuracy deficit is discussed in terms of establishing an acceptable trade-off. Accordingly, physical orientations and intensities of the captured flow features and the respective physical, optical, and numerical features driven by the specifications of the experimental and numerical configurations and their impact on the description of relevant flow features are detailed.