Simulations of unsteady three-dimensional hypersonic double-wedge flow experiments

John D. Reinert, Graham V. Candler, Jeffrey R. Komives

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hypersonic flow over a three-dimensional 30–55 deg double wedge is investigated for three different conditions of varying enthalpy and Reynolds number with nitrogen as the test gas. Streamwise and spanwise wall heat flux are compared to the experimental data that were obtained at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and the California Institute of Technology. In previous studies, there were concerns that portions of the flowfield were rarefied; however, after an in-depth analysis, we find the flowfield to be firmly in the continuum regime. Comparisons of heat flux at an instant of time in the simulations show good agreement with the experiments. However, averaged heat flux over a long period of time relative to the experimental test time are underpredicted and develop low-frequency periodic motion. To better understand the unsteadiness and three-dimensionality of the flowfield, we analyze the mass flux through a spanwise plane, and we perform sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition for the wall heat flux and midplane pressure. Finally, we analyze the effect of vibrational nonequilibrium on the flowfield. It is found that the flowfield dynamics vary with increasing enthalpy and Reynolds number. Furthermore, the flowfield is found to be three dimensional, unsteady, and asymmetric for all cases.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4055-4067
Number of pages13
JournalAIAA journal
Volume58
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This Paper was sponsored by the Collaborative Center for Aeronautical Sciences, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant number FA9550-17-1-0250, and the U.S. Office of Naval Research under grant number N00014-15-1-2522. Thanks are due to Ioannis Nompelis for his insightful discussions on double-wedge and double-cone flowfields. Finally, special thanks are due to Anubhav Dwivedi; his guidance and support made this Paper possible. This material has been cleared for public release. Case Number 88ABW 2018-4081. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. The views and conclusions contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies or endorsements, either expressed or implied, of the funding agencies or the U.S. Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc.. All rights reserved.

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