On the response of shock-induced separation bubble to small amplitude disturbances

Numerical simulations of an oblique shock interacting with a compressible laminar boundary layer are reported. The Mach number ranges from 2 to 6.85, while the Reynolds number based on the distance to the impingement location is fixed at 3 × 105. All the simulations are carried out with a constant wall temperature, equal to the adiabatic recovery temperature. At higher shock strength the evolved separation bubbles are taller and are biased towards the upstream side of the impingement location with an asymmetrical structure. Existing similarity scalings for the bubble length need to be modified for the high Mach number range. Introduction of small amplitude disturbances upstream of the separation bubble resulted in the growth of organised streamwise structures downstream of the bubble.