49th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting including the New Horizons Forum and Aerospace Exposition 4 - 7 January 2011,

Orlando, Florida

AIAA 2011-1050

Experimental investigations into transonic shock wave unsteadiness

P.J.K. Bruce, I.A. Coman, G.T.H. Holt and J.K. Harvey
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Trumpington St., Cambridge, CB2 1PZ, England
An experimental investigation into the behaviour of transonic shock waves subject to downstream pressure perturbations has been conducted. Data from tests with a number of experimental congurations and also from literature have been used to assess the applicability of an inviscid model for shock wave dynamics previously developed for simple geometries. It is found that the inviscid model can be applied to predict aspects of shock dynamics for a range of dierent congurations including a transonic bump and an aerofoil, providing some knowledge of the steady ow eld is available to allow appropriate scaling variables to be calculated. Experiments have also been performed to study forced unsteady shock wave behaviour at higher frequencies than have previously been studied. The dynamics of forced shock motion at high frequencies (100200 Hz) has been measured and has been found to be notably dierent from shock dynamics at lower frequencies (2050 Hz). At high frequencies, the shock exhibits some strange dynamic behaviour, consisting of an oscillatory disturbance with a frequency of around 470 Hz which is independent of the forcing frequency. Potential features of the ow that may be the source of this disturbance are discussed.

I.

Introduction

Shock wave unsteadiness can cause undesirable eects in high speed aerodynamic applications that are detrimental to performance. Examples include asymmetrical pressure loading in supersonic propulsive nozzles, buzz and engine unstart in supersonic engine intakes and buet on transonic wings. Systems of both transonic (normal or near-normal) and supersonic (oblique) shock waves have been observed to exhibit unsteady behaviour, which can range from relatively small scale uctuations that produce highly localised eects to more large-scale unsteadiness that can impact an entire ow-eld and lead to periodic oscillatory shock wave motion. Transonic shock waves are sensitive to perturbations in both upstream and downstream ow conditions and are more likely to undergo large scale unsteady motion than oblique shock waves, which are largely isolated from downstream disturbances and are often more (geometrically) constrained against changes in position. The frequency or range of frequencies of shock unsteadiness can be critical in determining whether shock oscillations are problematic or dangerous in an application. Other important factors include the amplitude of any shock motion resulting from unsteadiness and whether boundary layer separation (shock-induced or otherwise) occurs. The ability to predict these eects in unsteady ows where shock waves are present is currently poor and further fundamental experimental research is required. Furthermore, even though the capability of computational methods in this area is continually improving, there remains a pressing need for more detailed and focused experiments for the purpose of validation. Previous researchers have highlighted the potential for dierences between the mechanisms for unsteadiness in transonic and supersonic shock waves, due to the dierent state (subsonic or supersonic) of the downstream ow. On transonic aerofoils, Lee1 suggests a mechanism for self-sustained shock oscillations related to disturbances in the aerofoil wake, while Alshabu et al.2 has considered the propagation of pressure
Research Masters

Associate, Aerodynamics Laboratory, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge student, University of Cambridge Masters student, University of Cambridge Visiting Professor, University of Cambridge

1 of 12 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Copyright 2011 by P.J.K. Bruce, I.A. Coman, G.T.H. Holt and J.K. Harvey. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission.