Hypersonic Wind-Tunnel Measurements of Boundary-Layer Pressure Fluctuations

Abstract

During atmospheric reentry, hypersonic vehicles are subjected to high levels of boundary-layer pressure fluctuations. To improve understanding and prediction of these fluctuations, measurements of surface pressure fluctuations on a seven-degree sharp cone at zero angle of attack were conducted in Sandia's Hypersonic Wind Tunnel under noisy flow and in Purdue University's Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel under noisy and quiet flow. Fluctuations under laminar boundary layers reflected tunnel noise levels. Laminar boundary-layer measurements under quiet flow were an order of magnitude lower than under noisy flow. Transition on the model only occurred under noisy flow, and fluctuations peaked during transition. The transition location, marked by the peak, depended on tunnel noise parameters.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA504177

Entities

People

  • Katya M. Casper

Organizations

  • Purdue University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aerodynamic Noise
  • Air Force
  • Boundary Layer
  • Boundary Layer Transition
  • Data Acquisition
  • Dynamic Pressure
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Frequency Bands
  • Hydrodynamics
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Pressure Measurement
  • Reynolds Number
  • Turbulent Flow
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Radar Systems Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Hypersonics
  • Hypersonics - Hypersonic Boundary Layers
  • Hypersonics - Hypersonic Flow