Stability of Hypersonic Boundary Layers over a Compression Corner

Abstract

The stability of hypersonic boundary layers over a compression corner is investigated numerically. To compute the shock and the interaction of the shock with the instability waves, the simulation solves the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations using a high-order, weighted, essentially nonoscillatory shock-capturing scheme. After computing the mean flowfield, the procedure then superimposes two-dimensional unsteady disturbances at the inflow and computes the evolution of these disturbances in downstream direction. Because of the interaction of the shock with the boundary layer, a separation bubble forms at the corner, and two compression waves form near the separation and reattachment points. These compression waves merge farther away from the boundary layer to form a shock