Vortex Generators for a Normal Shock/Boundary Layer Interaction with a Downstream Diffuser

T HE interaction of a shock wavewith a turbulent boundary layer constitutes a fundamental problem of high-speed fluid mechanics. A detailed survey of past work on high-speed interactions has been carried out by Settles and Dolling [1] and Smits and Dussauge [2]. The shock interaction problem is particularly germane to the design of supersonic inlets. In such supersonic inlets, deceleration of the flow is achieved through a succession of oblique shock waves followed by a terminal normal shock. Boundary layers form on the inlet surfaces and interact with the shock system, giving rise to various shock/boundary-layer interactions (SBLIs). Each interaction of oblique/normal shock waves with the boundary layer causes stagnation pressure losses and downstream spatial distortions seen by the engine. An inlet must be carefully designed to minimize these losses and distortions during the compression process since they affect overall propulsion performance. In mixed-compression inlets, shock-induced separation can lead to engine unstart, which requires that the entire propulsion system undergo a restart sequence during flight. In external compression inlets, specifically axisymmetric configurations, a thick hubside boundary layer increases blockage and can decrease compressor performance. Thus, successfully controlling SBLIs has the potential to significantly improve supersonic inlet performance. As will be discussed in the following, various techniques of flow control for SBLIs have been proposed. However, it is often difficult to interpret the results because the flowfield may be too specific to an individual inlet configuration or too basic such that a relationship to inlet performance is not clear. To address this issue, a newwind-tunnel flowfield has been proposed [3] that captures much of the key shock boundary-layer interaction physics of supersonic external compression inlets. Thisflowfieldwill be used to study the novel flow control methods introduced herein. The conventionalflow control technique for SBLI conditions in an engine inlet employs a bleed of the boundary layer [4,5]. This bleed Presented as Paper 2010-4464 at the 40th AIAA Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit, Chicago, IL, 28 June–1 July 2010; received 31 January 2011; revision received 26 July 2011; accepted for publication 11 August 2011. Copyright©2011 by theAmerican Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved. Copies of this paper may be made for personal or internal use, on condition that the copier pay the $10.00 per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; include the code 0748-4658/12 and $10.00 in correspondence with the CCC. Ph.D. Candidate, Aerospace Engineering, 104 S. Wright Street. Member AIAA. Professor of Aerodynamics, Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street. Associate Fellow AIAA. Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, 122 Engineer’s Way. Associate Fellow AIAA. JOURNAL OF PROPULSION AND POWER Vol. 28, No. 1, January–February 2012