Exploratory study of shock reflection near an expansion corner

Abstract

Experiments were performed at Mach 8 in which a shock was reflected off a low Reynolds number, turbulent boundary layer past an expansion corner. The shock was generated by 2- and 4-deg sharp wedges, and the corner was either 2.5 or 4.25 deg. The inviscid shock reflection was one boundary layer thickness ahead or behind the corner or at the corner itself. All interactions were unseparated. The dynamic surface pressure distributions were examined together with the case of shock reflection on a flat plate. With shock reflection ahead of the corner, the mean surface pressure downstream was attenuated due to the proximity of the corner. With shock reflection downstream of the corner, the surface pressure distribution showed a reduced upstream influence. The highly swept expansion fan produced a surface pressure which rose gently downstream with no minima, unlike in supersonic flows with the same shock-corner separation distance. In many of the interactions, an anomalous pressure peak was found downstream. The surface pressure through the interaction exhibited unsteadiness.