Abstract

The interaction of a shock wave with a turbulent boundary layer is one of the fundamental building blocks of high-speed flow. It is particularly important to understand under what circumstances a shock wave causes flow separation. The most fundamental of all shock/boundary-layer interactions (SBLIs) is that of a normal shock with a flat plate boundary layer. Here, it was thought that the primary factor determining the onset of separation is the shock strength (Mach number) with only a mild secondary influence of the incoming boundary layer shape factor. However, the data gathered over the last 50 years shows a remarkable amount of scatter.

In this talk I will argue that the geometry of the flowfield (in particular the confinement caused by the presence of side-walls) may play a significant role which can explain the scatter seen in the data. Some ideas for the physics of this ‘corner effect’ will be proposed and the wider implications will be discussed. In the second part of this talk I will apply the findings from the normal shock interaction case onto the next fundamental SBLI flow field; the supersonic oblique shock reflection. Here again, I will demonstrate that side-wall effects can have considerable impact on the flow field and the onset of separation.