Abstract

Fluid dynamics researchers today often aspire to use CFD and experiments in combination to better understand flow physics. However, it is relatively unusual for the physical experiments and simulations to be designed and conducted simultaneously. I will be talking about a recent study to validate numerical codes in the corner regions of supersonic channel flows, where a specific emphasis was placed on close experimental-computational collaboration. I will give examples of how this close communication between the two approaches enabled the discovery of new features in the flow of a supersonic wind tunnel, which has produced more than sixty years of high-quality research. These features include a somewhat unexpected shape of the tunnel boundary layers, which can have a profound influence on wind tunnel experiments, as well as streamwise vortices induced by the nozzle geometry.