A coupled fluid-structure interaction solver capability is developed and validated. A high fidelity fluids solver, Loci-Chem, is coupled with a finite-element structural dynamics toolkit, MAST. The coupled solver is validated for the prediction of several panel instability cases in uniform flows and in the presence of an impinging shock for a range of subsonic and supersonic Mach numbers, dynamic pressures, and pressure ratios. The panel deflections and limit-cycle oscillation amplitudes, frequencies, and bifurcation point predictions compare very well with benchmark results for 2D simulations. The same procedures outlined in the validation study have been applied to simulations of varying dynamic pressures at M = 2 for an impinging oblique shockwave. The influence of inviscid, laminar and turbulent boundary layer profiles on the development of flow field characteristics has been analyzed, and laminar predictions characterized by a large flow separation results in vastly different behavior than that of traditional flutter.

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Shock Boundary Layer Interactions (SBLIs) and shock-shock interactions are some of the most fundamental problems in high speed aerodynamics. These interactions are of particular importance in scramjet intakes at hypersonic speeds. In hypersonic own with strong SBLI accompanied by own separation, large separation bubbles can form due to high impinging shock strengths. While experiments involving large separation lengths for the impinging shock boundary layer interactions near sharp leading edge are well documented in the literature, only few investigations on the effect of leading edge bluntness on the interactions are studied. In the present study, experiments were carried out to study the role of leading edge bluntness on the impinging shock boundary layer interactions. An oblique shock generated by a wedge (wedge angle 31 degrees) is made to impinge on a at plate (length 200 mm) over which a boundary layer develops. Different leading edge inserts were used on a at plate to get either a sharp or a blunt (radii from 2 to 8 mm) leading edge. The position of the at plate was moved horizontally with respect to the wedge to vary the shock impingement location relative to the leading edge. Experiments were carried out at two freestream conditions - Mach 5.88 (total enthalpy of 1.26 MJ/kg and freestream Reynolds number of 3.85 million per meter) and Mach 8.54 (total enthalpy of 1.85 MJ/kg and freestream Reynolds number of 1.41 million per meter). The various features of the interaction along with different parameters were obtained from schlieren visualizations and surface pressure measurements. The schlieren visualization was used to obtain the separation length, while the reattachment pressure was obtained from the surface pressure distribution. From the present experimental study, a reduction in separation length was observed with an increase in leading edge bluntness. It was also seen that the sharp leading edge had the maximum separation length. Correlations for the separation length and the reattachment pressure have been proposed for these experimental conditions. Numerical simulations were also carried out using commercial software and they had a qualitative agreement with the experiments.

An approach for designing a high-enthalpy wind tunnel driven by exothermic chemical reactions was developed. Nozzle contours were designed using CONTUR, a program implementing the method of characteristics, to design nozzle contours at various flow conditions. A reacting mixture including nitrous oxide has been identified as the best candidate for providing clean air at high temperatures. The nitrous oxide has a few performance factors that were considered, specifically the combustion of the gas. Initial CFD simulations were performed on the nozzle and test region to validate flow characteristics and possible issues. Initial results show a fairly uniform exit velocity and ability to perform testing. In a second phase of the work, two generic, high-speed missile configurations were explored using numerical simulation. The mean flow was computed on both geometries at 0 and 45 roll and 0, 1, and 10 angle of attack. The computations identified complex flow structures, including three-dimensional shock/boundary-layer interactions, that varied considerably with angle of attack.

An approach for designing a high-enthalpy wind tunnel driven by exothermic chemical reactions was developed. Nozzle contours were designed using CONTUR, a program implementing the method of characteristics, to design nozzle contours at various flow conditions. A reacting mixture including nitrous oxide has been identified as the best candidate for providing clean air at high temperatures. The nitrous oxide has a few performance factors that were considered, specifically the combustion of the gas. Initial CFD simulations were performed on the nozzle and test region to validate flow characteristics and possible issues. Initial results show a fairly uniform exit velocity and ability to perform testing. In a second phase of the work, two generic, high-speed missile configurations were explored using numerical simulation. The mean flow was computed on both geometries at 0 and 45 roll and 0, 1, and 10 angle of attack. The computations identified complex flow structures, including three-dimensional shock/boundary-layer interactions, that varied considerably with angle of attack. <br>

The interaction of a shock wave and boundary layer often occurs in high speed flows. For sufficiently strong shock strengths the boundary layer separates, generating shock patterns in the contiguous inviscid flow (termed strong interactions); which may also affect the performances of the systems where they occur, demanding control of the interaction to enhance the performances. The case of impinging shock wave boundary layer interaction is of fundamental importance and can throw light on the physics of the interaction in general. Although various aspects of the interaction are studied at supersonic speeds, the complexities involved in the interaction at hypersonic speeds are not well understood. Of importance is the high total enthalpy associated with hypersonic flows the simulation of which requires shock tunnels. The present experimental study focuses on the interaction between strong impinging shock and boundary layer in hypersonic flows of moderate to high total enthalpies. Experiments are performed in hypersonic shock tunnels HST-2 and FPST (free piston driven shock tunnel), at nominal Mach numbers 6 and 8, with total enthalpy ranging from 1.3 MJ/kg to 6 MJ/kg, and freestream Reynolds number ranging from 0.3 million/m to 4 million/m. The strong impinging shock is generated by a wedge of angle 30.960 to the freestream. The shock is made to impinge on a flat plate (made of Hylem which is adiabatic, except for one case with plate made of aluminium which allows heat transfer). The position of (inviscid) shock impingement may be varied (from 55 mm from the leading edge to 100 mm from the leading edge) by moving the plate back and forth on the fixture which holds the wedge and the plate. Expectedly the strong shock generates a large separation bubble of length comparable to the distance of the location of shock impingement from the leading edge of the plate. Such large separation bubbles are typical of supersonic/hypersonic intakes at off-design operation. The evolution of the flow field- including the evolution of impinging shock and subsequent evolution of the large separation bubble- within the short test duration of the shock tunnels is one of the main concerns addressed in the study. Time resolved schlieren flow visualizations using high speed camera, surface pressure measurements using PCB, kulite and MEMS sensors, surface convective heat transfer measurements using platinum thin film sensors are the flow diagnostics used. From the time resolved visualizations and surface pressure measurements with the fast response sensors, the flow field, even with a separation bubble as large as 75 mm (at Mach 5.96, with shock impingement at 95 mm from the leading edge) was found to be established within the short shock tunnel test time. The effects of various parameters- freestream Mach number, distance of the location of shock impingement, freestream total enthalpy and wall heat transfer- on the interaction are investigated. With increase in Mach number from 5.96 to 8.67, for nearly the same shock impingement locations (95 mm and 100 mm from the leading edge respectively), the separation length decreased from 75 mm to 60 mm despite the fact that the shocks are doubly stronger at the higher Mach number. Inflectional trend in separation length was observed with enthalpy at nominal Mach number 8- separation length increased from 60 mm at 1.6 MJ/kg to 70 mm at 2.4 MJ/kg, and decreased drastically to ~40 mm at 6 MJ/kg (when dissociations are expected). The separation length Lsep for all the experiments, except the experiments at 6 MJ/kg, were found to be large, i.e. comparable with the distance xi of location of shock impingement from the leading edge of the flat plate. The scaled separation length (with Hylem wall) was found to obey the inviscid similarity law proposed from the present study for large separation bubbles with strong impinging shocks, where M∞ is the freestream Mach number, p∞ is the freestream pressure and pr is the measured reattachment pressure; this holds for freestream total enthalpy ranging from 1.3 MJ/kg to 2.4 MJ/kg and Reynolds number (based on location of shock impingement) ranging from 1x105 to 4x105. While the increase in separation length from 1.6 MJ/kg to 2.4 MJ/kg could thus be attributed to the small difference in Mach number between the cases (due to inverse variation with cube of Mach number), the decrease in separation length and the non-confirmation to the proposed similarity law for the 6 MJ/kg case is attributed to the real gas effects. At Mach 6 the flow was observed to separate close to the leading edge, even when the (inviscid) shock impingement was at 95 mm from the leading edge. This prompted the proposal of an approximate inviscid model of the interaction for the Mach 6 case with separation at leading edge, and reattachment at the location of (inviscid) shock impingement; Accordingly, the closer the location of impingement, the more the angle that the separated shear layer makes with the plate and hence more the pressure inside the separation bubble. A small reduction in separation length was also observed with aluminium wall when compared with Hylem wall, emphasizing the importance of wall heat conductivity (especially when concerning separated flows) even within the short test durations of shock tunnels. The free interaction theory over adiabatic wall was found to predict the pressure at the location of separation, but under-predict the plateau pressure (at nominal Mach number 8). Numerical simulations (steady, planar) were also carried out using commercial CFD solver FLUENT to complement the experiments. Simulations using one equation turbulence model (Spalart-Allmaras model) were closer to the experimental results than the laminar simulations, suggesting that the flow field may be transitional or turbulent after separation. Significant reduction of the separation bubble length was demonstrated with the control of the interaction using boundary layer bleed within the short test time of the shock tunnel; with tangential blowing at the separation location20% reduction in separation length was observed, while with suction at separation location the reduction was 13.33 %.

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