Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Experimental Hypersonic flow'

Shock boundary layer interactions (SBLI) is an undesirable event occurring in high-speed air-breathing propulsion system that stimulates boundary layer separation due to adverse pressure gradients and consequently lead to ow distortion and pressure loss in the intake section. Therefore it is essential to apply ow control mechanisms to prevent this phenomenon. This study involves a novel ow control device called micro-ramp, which is a part of the micro-vortex generator family that has shown great potential in solving the adverse phenomenon. The term micro refers to the height of the device, which is smaller than the boundary layer thickness, δ. It is important to highlight the two main novelties of this investigation. Firstly, it is the first micro-ramp study conducted in the hypersonic ow regime (Mach 5) since most of the previous micro-ramp studies were only performed in subsonic, transonic and supersonic flows. Another novelty is the various experimental techniques that were used in single study for example schlieren photography, oil-dot and oil- ow visualisation and conventional pressure transducers. In addition, advanced ow diagnostic tools such as infrared thermography, pressure sensitive paints (PSP) and particle image velocimetry (PIV) were also employed. T

Etude experimentale de l'influence de l'ecoulement transversal sur les distributions du flux thermique et de la pression parietale. Determination des grandeurs caracteristiques de la zone de decollement. Etude de l'apparition de la transition dans la zone du decollement en fonction du nombre de reynolds. Solution numerique pour la distribution de pression dans le cas de l'interaction laminaire

Etude expérimentale de l'influence de l'écoulement transversal sur les distributions du flux thermique et de la pression pariétale. Détermination des grandeurs caractéristiques de la zone de décollement. Etude de l'apparition de la transition dans la zone du décollement en fonction du nombre de Reynolds. Solution numérique pour la distribution de pression dans le cas de l'interaction laminaire

This experimental study documents the development and separation of a hypersonic boundary layer produced naturally on the cold surface of a sharp slender cone. At the base of the conical forebody, the equilibrium turbulent boundary layer was allowed to separate over an axisymmetric rearward facing step to form a compressible base flow. The investigation was conducted in the Imperial College No.2 gun tunnel at a freestream Mach number of 9 and unit Reynolds numbers of 15 and 55 million. The compressible boundary layer study was carried out at both of the available freestream unit Reynolds numbers and the measured data include distributions of wall static pressure and heat transfer rate, together with profiles of pitot pressure through the boundary layer. Using the chordwise distribution of surface heat flux as a means of transition detection, the cone transition Reynolds number was found to be 5.4x10^. This result, together with that obtained from flat plate studies conducted in the same test facility, provided a ratio of cone to flat plate transition Reynolds number of 0.8. Boundary layer integral quantities and shape factors are derived from velocity profiles and in most cases the measured data extended close enough to the wall to detect the peak values of the integrands. The separated flow region formed at the base of the cone was documented only at the higher unit Reynolds number, a condition under which the approaching turbulent boundary layer was found to be close to equilibrium. The data include pitot pressure profiles recorded normal to the surface downstream of reattachment, together with wall static pressure and heat transfer rate distributions measured throughout the base flow region. Reattachment occurred approximately two step heights downstream of separation and a surface flow visualisation study indicated the existence of Taylor-Goertler type vortices, emanating from the reattachment line in the downstream direction. A simple shear layer expansion model is developed and shown to provide a favourable prediction of the measured pitot pressure profiles recorded downstream of the reattachment line. The success of this second order model implies that the dynamics of the corner expansion process, except in the immediate vicinity of the wall, is governed largely by inviscid pressure mechanisms and that the supersonic region of the boundary layer expansion is essentially isentropic.

In the flying field of space transportation domain, the increased efforts involving design and development of hypersonic flight for space missions is on toe to provide the optimum aerothermodynamic design data to satisfy mission requirements. Aerothermodynamics is the basis for designing and development of hypersonic space transportation flight vehicles such as X 51 a, and other programmes like planetary probes for Moon and Mars, and Earth re-entry vehicles such as SRE and space shuttle. It enables safe flying of aerospace vehicles, keeping other parameters optimum for structural and materials with thermal protection systems. In this context, the experimental investigations on hypersonic waverider are carried out at design Mach 6. The hypersonic waverider has high lift to drag ratio at design Mach number even at zero degree angle of incidence, and this seems to be one of the special characteristics for its shape at hypersonic flight regime. The heat transfer rates are measured using 30 thin film platinum gauges sputtered on a Macor material that are embedded on the test model. The waverider has 16 sensors on top surface and 14 on bottom surface of a model. The surface temperature history is directly converted to heat transfer rates. The heat transfer data are measured for design (Mach 6) and off-design Mach numbers (8) in the hypersonic shock tunnel, HST2. The results are obtained at stagnation enthalpy of ~ 2 MJ/kg, and Reynolds number range from 0.578 x 106 m-1 to 1.461 x 106 m-1. In addition, flow visualization is carried out by using Schlieren technique to obtain the shock structures and flow evolution around the Waverider. Some preliminary computational analyses are conducted using FLUENT 6.3 and HiFUN, which gave quantitative results. Experimentally measured surface heat flux data are compared with the computed one and both the data agree well. These detailed results are presented in the thesis.

With the age of hypersonic flight imminent just beyond the horizon, researchers are working hard at designing work-arounds for all the major problems as well as the minor quirks associated with it. One such issue, seemingly innocuous but one that could be potentially deadly, is the problem of interference heating due to surface protuberances. Although an ideal design of the external surfaces of a high-speed aircraft dictates complete smoothness to reduce drag, this is not always possible in reality. Control surfaces, sheet joints, cable protection pads etc. generate surface discontinuities of varying geometries, in the form of both protrusions as well as cavities. These discontinuities are most often small in dimension, comparable to the local boundary layer thickness at that location. Such protuberances always experience high rates of heat transfer, and therefore should be appropriately shielded. However, thermal shielding of the protrusions alone is not a full solution to the problem at hand. The interference caused to the boundary layer by the flow causes the generation of local hot spots in the vicinity of the protuberances, which should be properly mapped and adequately addressed. The work presented in this thesis aims at locating and measuring the heat flux values at these hot spots near the protrusions, and possibly formulating empirical correlations to predict the hot spot heat flux for a given set of flow conditions and protrusion geometry. Experimental investigations were conducted on a flat plate model and a cone model, with interchangeable sharp and blunt nose tips, with attached 3D protuberances. Platinum thin-film sensors were placed around the protrusion so that the heat fluxes could be measured in its vicinity and the hottest spot located. These experiments were carried out at five different hypersonic free stream flow conditions generated using two shock tunnels, one of the conventional type, and the other of the free-piston driven type. The geometry of the protrusions, i.e., the height and the deflection angle, was also parametrically varied to study its effect on the hot spot heat flux. The results thus obtained for the flat plate case were compared to existing correlations in the open literature from a similar previous study at a much higher Reynolds number range. Since a mismatch was observed between the results of the current experiments and the existing correlations, a new empirical correlation has been developed to predict the hot spot heat flux, that is valid within the range of flow conditions studied here. A similar attempt was made for the case of the cone model, for which no previous correlations exist in the open literature. However, a global correlation covering the entire range of flow conditions used here could not be formed. A correlation that is valid for just one out of the five flow conditions used here is presented for the cones with sharp and blunt nose tips separately. Schlieren flow visualization was carried out to obtain a better understanding of the shock structures near the protuberances on both models. For most cases, where the protrusion height and deflection angle were large enough to cause flow separation immediately upstream of the protuberance, a separation shock was manifested which deflected some part of the boundary layer above the protuberance, while the rest of the fluid in the boundary layer entered a recirculating region in the separated zone before escaping to the side. Some preliminary computational analysis was conducted which confirmed this qualitatively. However, the quantitative match of surface heat flux between the simulations and experiments were not encouraging. Schlieren visualization revealed that for the flat plate case, the foot of the separation shock was located at a distance of 10.5 to 12 times the protrusion height ahead of it, whereas in the case of the sharp cone, it was at a distance of 9 to 10.5 times the protrusion height. The unsteady nature of the separation shock was also captured and addressed. Some preliminary experiments on boundary layer tripping were also conducted, the results of which have been presented here. From this analysis, it has become evident that a single global correlation cannot be formed which could be used for a wide range of flow conditions to predict the hot spot heat flux in interference interactions. The entire range of conditions that may be encountered during hypersonic flight has to be broken down into sections, and the interference heating pattern should be studied in each of these sections individually. By doing so, a series of different correlations can be formed at the varying flow conditions which will then be available for high-speed aircraft designers.

The recent resurgence in hypersonics is centered around the development of SCRAMJET engine technology to power future hypersonic vehicles. Successful flight trials by Australian and American scientists have created interest in the scramjet engine research across the globe. To develop scramjet engine, it is important to study heat transfer effects on the engine performance and aerodynamic forces acting on the body. Hence, the main aim of present investigation is the design of scramjet engine configuration and measurement of aerodynamic forces acting on the model and heat transfer rates along the length of the combustor. The model is a two-dimensional single ramp model and is designed based on shock-on-lip (SOL) condition. Experiments are performed in IISc hypersonic shock tunnel HST2 at two different Mach numbers of 8 and 7 for different angles of attack. Aerodynamic forces measurements using three-component accelerometer force balance and heat transfer rates measurements using platinum thin film sensors deposited on Macor substrate are some of the shock tunnel flow diagnostics that have been used in this study.

Hypersonic vehicles are exposed to severe heating loads during their flight in the atmosphere. In order to minimize the heating problem, a variety of cooling techniques are presently available for hypersonic blunt bodies. Introduction of a forward-facing cavity in the nose tip of a blunt body configuration of hypersonic vehicle is one of the most simple and attractive methods of reducing the convective heating rates on such a vehicle. In addition to aerodynamic heating, the overall drag force experienced by vehicles flying at hypersonic speeds is predominate due to formation of strong shock waves in the flow. Hence, the effective management of heat transfer rate and aerodynamic drag is a primary element to the success of any hypersonic vehicle design. So, precise information on both aerodynamic forces and heat transfer rates are essential in deciding the performance of the vehicle. In order to address the issue of both forces and heat transfer rates, right kind of measurement techniques must be incorporated in the ground-based testing facilities for such type of body configurations. Impulse facilities are the only devices that can simulate high altitude flight conditions. Uncertainties in test flow conditions of impulse facilities are some of the critical issues that essentially affect the final experimental results. Hence, more reliable and carefully designed experimental techniques/methodologies are needed in impulse facilities for generating experimental data, especially at hypersonic Mach numbers. In view of the above, an experimental program has been initiated to develop novel techniques of measuring both the aerodynamic forces and surface heat transfer rates. In the present investigation, both aerodynamic forces and surface heat transfer rates are measured over the test models at hypersonic Mach numbers in IISc hypersonic shock tunnel HST-2, having an effective test time of 800 s. The aerodynamic coefficients are measured with a miniature type accelerometer based balance system where as platinum thin film sensors are used to measure the convective heat transfer rates over the surface of the test model. An internally mountable accelerometer based balance system (three and six-component) is used for the measurement of aerodynamic forces and moment coefficients acting on the different test models (i.e., blunt cone with after body, blunt cone with after body and frustum, blunt cone with after body-frustum-triangular fins and sharp cone with after body-frustum-triangular fins), flying at free stream Mach numbers of 5.75 and 8 in hypersonic shock tunnel. The main principle of this design is that the model along with the internally mounted accelerometer balance system are supported by rubber bushes and there-by ensuring unrestrained free floating conditions of the model in the test section during the flow duration. In order to get a better performance from the accelerometer balance system, the location of accelerometers plays a vital role during the initial design of the balance. Hence, axi-symmetric finite element modeling (FEM) of the integrated model-balance system for the missile shaped model has been carried out at 0° angle of attack in a flow Mach number of 8. The drag force of a model was determined using commercial package of MSC/NASTRAN and MSC/PATRAN. For test flow duration of 800 s, the neoprene type rubber with Young’s modulus of 3 MPa and material combinations (aluminum and stainless steel material used as the model and balance) were chosen. The simulated drag acceleration (finite element) from the drag accelerometer is compared with recorded acceleration-time history from the accelerometer during the shock tunnel testing. The agreement between the acceleration-time history from finite-element simulation and measured response from the accelerometer is very good within the test flow domain. In order to verify the performance of the balance, tests were carried out on similar standard AGARD model configurations (blunt cone with cylinder and blunt cone with cylinder-frustum) and the results indicated that the measured values match very well with the AGARD model data and theoretically estimated values. Modified Newtonian theory is used to calculate the aerodynamic force coefficient analytically for various angles of attack. Convective surface heat transfer rate measurements are carried out by using vacuum sputtered platinum thin film sensors deposited on ceramic substrate (Macor) inserts which in turn are embedded on the metallic missile shaped body. Investigations are carried out on a model with and without fin configurations in HST-2 at flow Mach number of 5.75 and 8 with a stagnation enthalpy of 2 MJ/kg for zero degree angle of attack. The measured heating rates for the missile shaped body (i.e., with fin configuration) are lower than the predicted stagnation heating rates (Fay-Riddell expression) and the maximum difference is about 8%. These differences may be due to the theoretical values of velocity gradient used in the empirical relation. The experimentally measured values are expressed in terms of normalized heat transfer rates, Stanton numbers and correlated Stanton numbers, compared with the numerically estimated results. From the results, it is inferred that the location of maximum heating occurs at stagnation point which corresponds to zero velocity gradient. The heat-transfer ratio (q1/Qo)remains same in the stagnation zone of the model when the Mach number is increased from 5.75 to 8. At the corners of the blunt cone, the heat transfer rate doesn’t increase (or) fluctuate and the effects are negligible at two different Mach numbers (5.75 and 8). On the basis of equivalent total enthalpy, the heat-transfer rate with fin configuration (i.e., at junction of cylinder and fins) is slightly higher than that of the missile model without fin. Attempts have also been made to evaluate the feasibility of using forward facing cavity as probable technique to reduce the heat transfer rate and to study its effect on aerodynamic coefficients on a 41° apex angle missile shaped body, in hypersonic shock tunnel at a free stream Mach number of 8. The forward-facing circular cavities with two different diameters of 6 and 12 mm are chosen for the present investigations. Experiments are carried out at zero degree angle of attack for heat transfer measurements. About 10-25 % reduction in heat transfer rates is observed with cavity at gauge locations close to stagnation region, whereas the reduction in surface heat transfer rate is between 10-15 % for all other gauge locations (which is slightly downstream of the cavity) compared with the model without cavity. In order to understand the influence of forward facing cavities on force coefficients, measurement of aerodynamic forces and moment coefficients are also carried out on a missile shaped body at angles of attack. The same six component balance is also being used for subsequent investigation of force measurement on a missile shaped body with forward facing cavity. Overall drag reductions of up to 5 % is obtained for a cavity of 6 mm diameter, where as, for the 12 mm cavity an increase in aerodynamic drag is observed (up to about 10%). The addition of cavity resulted in a slight increase in the missile L/D ratio and did not significantly affect the missile lateral components. In summary, the designed balances are found to be suitable for force measurements on different test models in flows of duration less than a millisecond. In order to compliment the experimental results, axi-symmetric, Navier-Stokes CFD computations for the above-defined models are carried out for various angles of attack using a commercial package CFX-Ansys 5.7. The experimental free stream conditions obtained from the shock tunnel are used for the boundary conditions in the CFD simulation. The fundamental aerodynamic coefficients and heat transfer rates of experimental results are shown to be in good agreement with the predicted CFD. In order to have a feeling of the shock structure over test models, flow visualization experiments have been carried out by using the Schlieren technique at flow Mach numbers of 5.75 and 8. The visualized shock wave pattern around the test model consists of a strong bow shock which is spherical in shape and symmetrical over the forebody of the cone. Experimentally measured shock stand-off distance compare well with the computed value as well as the theoretically estimated value using Van Dyke’s theory. These flow visualization experiments have given a factual proof to the quality of flow in the tunnel test section.

One of the characteristics of the high speed ows over blunt bodies is the detached shock formed in front of the body. The distance of the shock from the stagnation point measured along the stagnation streamline is termed as the shock stand o distance or the shock detachment distance. It is one of the most basic parameters in such ows. The need to know the shock stand o distance arises due to the high temperatures faced in these cases. The biggest challenge faced in high enthalpy ows is the high amounts of heat transfer to the body. The position of the shock is relevant in knowing the temperatures that the body being subjected to such ows will have to face and thus building an efficient system to reduce the heat transfer. Despite being a basic parameter, there is no theoretical means to determine the shock stand o distance which is accepted universally. Deduction of this quantity depends more or less on experimental or computational means until a successful theoretical model for its predictions is developed. The experimental data available in open literature for spherical bodies in high speed ows mostly lies beyond the 2 km/s regime. Experiments were conducted to determine the shock stand o distance in the velocity range of 1-2 km/s. Three different hemispherical bodies of radii 25, 40 and 50 mm were taken as test models. Since the shock stand o distance is known to depend on the density ratio across the shock and hence gamma (ratio of specific heats), two different test gases, air and carbon dioxide were used for the experiments here. Five different test cases were studied with air as the test gas; Mach 5.56 with Reynolds number of 5.71 million/m and enthalpy of 1.08 MJ/kg, Mach 5.39 with Reynolds number of 3.04 million/m and enthalpy of 1.42 MJ/kg Mach 8.42 with Reynolds number of 1.72 million/m and enthalpy of 1.21 MJ/kg, Mach 11.8 with Reynolds number of 1.09 million/m and enthalpy of 2.03 MJ/kg and Mach 11.25 with Reynolds number of 0.90 million/m and enthalpy of 2.88 MJ/kg. For the experiments conducted with carbon dioxide as test gas, typical freestream conditions were: Mach 6.66 with Reynolds number of 1.46 million/m and enthalpy of 1.23 MJ/kg. The shock stand o distance was determined from the images that were obtained through schlieren photography, the ow visualization technique employed here. The results obtained were found to follow the same trend as the existing experimental data in the higher velocity range. The experimental data obtained was compared with two different theoretical models given by Lobb and Olivier and was found to match. Simulations were carried out in HiFUN, an in-house CFD package for Euler and laminar own conditions for Mach 8 own over 50 mm body with air as the test gas. The computational data was found to match well with the experimental and theoretical data

The emerging and competitive environment in the space technology requires the improvements in the capability of aerodynamic vehicles. This leads to the analysis in drag reduction of the vehicle along with the minimized heat transfer rate. Using forward facing solid aerospike is the simplest way among the existing drag reduction methodologies for hypersonic blunt cone bodies. But the flow oscillations associated with this aerospike makes it difficult to implement. When analyzing this flow, it can be understood that this oscillating flow can be compared to conical cavity flow. Therefore in the spiked flows, it is decided to implement the technique used in reducing the flow oscillation of the cavities. Based on this method the shallow conical cavity flow generated by the aerospike fixed ahead of a 120o blunt cone body is fissured as multiple cavities by so many disks formed from 10o cone. Now the deep conical cavities had the length to mean depth ratio of unity; this suppresses the unnecessary oscillations of the shallow cavity. The total length of the telescopic aerospike is fixed as 100mm. And one another conical tip plain aerospike of same length is designed for comparing the telescopic spike’s performance at hypersonic flow Mach numbers of 5.75 and 7.9. A three component force balance system capable of measuring drag, lift and pitching moment is designed and mounted internally into the skirt of the model. Drag measurement is done for without spike, conical tip plain spiked and telescopic spiked blunt cone body. The three configurations are tested at different angles of attack from 0 to 10 degree with a step of 2. A discrete iterative deconvolution methodology is implemented in this research work for obtaining the clean drag history from the noisy drag accelerometer signal. The drag results showed the drag reduction when compared to the without spike blunt cone body. When comparing to the plain spiked, the telescopic spiked blunt cone body has lesser drag at higher angles of attack. Heat transfer measurements are done over the blunt cone surface using the Platinum thin film gauges formed over the Macor substrate. These results and the flow visualization give better understanding of the flow and the heat flux rate caused by the flow. The enhancement in the heat flux rate over the blunt cone surface is due to the shock interaction. And in recirculation region the heat flux rate is very much lesser when compared to without spike blunt cone body. It is observed that the shock interaction in the windward side is coming closer towards the nose of the blunt cone as the angle of attack increases and the oscillation of the oblique shock also decreases. Schlieren visualization showed that there is dispersion in the oblique shock, particularly in the leeward side. In the telescopic spike there are multiple shocks generated from each and every disk which coalesces together to form a single oblique shock. And the effect of the shock generated by the telescopic spike is stronger than the effect of the shock generated by the conical tip plain spike.

Despite years of research in high speed boundary layer flow, there is still a need for insightful experiments to realize key features of the flow like boundary layer response to different conditions and related transition mechanisms. Volumes of data on the these problems point to the fact that there is still much to be understood about the nature of boundary layer instability causing transition and growth of boundary layer in different conditions. Boundary layer stability experiments have been found to be more useful, in which the boundary layer is perturbed and its behavior observed to infer useful conclusions. Also, apart from the stability part, the effect of various changes in boundary layer due to the perturbation makes interesting observation to gain more insight into the understood and the not so understood facets of the same. In view of the above, the effect of a steady axisymmetric thermal bump is investigated on a hypersonic boundary layer over a 60º sharp cone cylinder model. The thermal bump, placed near tip of the cone, perturbs the boundary layer, the behavior of which is observed by recording the wall heat flux on the cone and cylinder surface using platinum thin film sensors. The state of the boundary layer is qualitatively assessed by the wall heat flux comparisons between laminar and turbulent values. The same thermal bump also acts as a heat addition source to boundary layer in which case this recorded data provides a look into the effect of the heat addition to the wall heat flux. To gain a larger view of heat addition causing changes to the flow, effects of change in enthalpy are also considered. Experiments are performed in the IISc HST2 shock tunnel facility at 2MJkg−1 stag-nation enthalpy and Mach number of 8,with and without the thermal bump to form comparisons. Some experiments are also performed in the IISc HST3 free piston driven shock tunnel facility at 6MJkg−1, to investigate the effect of change in stagnation enthalpy on the wall heat flux. To support the experimental results theoretical comparisons and computational studies have also been carried out. The results of experiments show that the laminar boundary layer over the whole model remains laminar even when perturbed by the thermal bump. The wall heat flux measurements show change on the cone part where there seems to be fluctuation in the temperature gradients caused by the thermal bump, which decrease at first and then show an increase towards the base of the cone. The cylinder part remains the same with and without the thermal bump, indicating heavy damping effects by the expansion fan at cone cylinder junction. A local peak in wall heat flux is observed at the junction which is reduced by 64% by the action of the thermal bump. The possible reason for this is attributed to the increased temperature gradients at the wall due to delayed dissipation of heat that is accumulated in the boundary layer as a result of the thermal bump action. The comparison of data for enthalpies of 2MJkg−1 and 6MJkg−1 show that there are negligible real gas effects in the higher enthalpy case and they do not affect the wall heat flux much. Also it is found that the thermal bump fails to dump heat into the flow directly though it creates heat addition virtually by mere discontinuity in the surface temperature and causes temperature gradients fluctuation in the boundary layer. Considering the thermal bump action and the change in stagnation enthalpy of the flow, there seems to be no change in both cases that can be attributed to a common observation resulting from the factor of change in heat inside the boundary layer.

Shock-shock interactions are among the most basic gas-dynamic problem, and are almost unavoidable in any high speed light, where shock waves generating from different sources crosses each other paths. These interactions when present very close to the solid surface lead to very high pressure and thermal loads on the surface. The related practical problem is that experienced at the cowl lip of a scramjet engine, where the interfering shock waves leads to high heat transfer rates which may also lead to the damage of the material. The classification by Edney (1968) on the shock-shock interaction patterns based on the visualization has since then served the basis for such studies. Though the problem of high heating on the surface in the vicinity of the shock-shock interactions has been studied at length at supersonic Mach numbers, the study on the topic at the hypersonic Mach numbers is little sparse. Even in the studies at hypersonic Mach numbers, the high speeds are not simulated, which is the measure of the kinetic energy of the ow. Very few experimental studies have addressed this problem by simulating the energy content of the ow. Also, some of the numerical studies on the shock-shock interactions suggest the presence of unsteadiness in the shock-shock interaction patterns as observed by Edney (1968), though this observation is not made very clearly in the experimental studies undertaken so far. In the present study, experiments are carried out in a conventional shock tunnel at Mach number of 5.62 (total enthalpy of 1.07 MJ/kg; freestream velocity of 1361 m/s), with the objective of mapping the surface pressure distribution and surface convective heat transfer rate distribution on the hemispherical body in the presence of the shock-shock interactions. A shock generator which is basically a wedge of angle = 25 , is placed at some dis-dance in front of the hemispherical body such that the planar oblique shock wave from the shock generator hits the bow shock wave in front of the hemi-spherical body. The relative distance between the wedge tip and the nose of the hemispherical body is allowed to change in di erent experiments to capture the whole realm of shock-shock interaction by making the planar oblique shock wave interact with the bow shock wave at different locations along its trajectory. The study results in a bulk of data for the surface pressure and heat transfer rates which were obtained by placing 5 kulites pressure transducers, 1 PCB pressure transducer and 21 platinum thin lm gauges along the surface of the hemispherical body in a plane normal to the freestream velocity direction. Along with the measurement of the surface pressure and the surface heat transfer rates, the schlieren visualization is carried out to capture the shock waves, expansion fans, slip lines, present in a certain shock-shock interaction pattern and the measured values were correlated with the captured schlieren images to evaluate the ow build up and steady and useful test time thereby helping in understanding the ow physics in the presence of the shock-shock interactions. From the present study it has been observed that in the presence of Edney Type-I and Edney Type-II interaction, the heat transfer rates on the hemi-spherical body are symmetrical about the centerline of the body, with the peak heating at the centerline which drops towards the shoulder. For Edney Type-III, Edney Type-IV, Edney Type-V and Edney Type-VI interaction pattern, the distribution in not symmetrical and shifts in peak heat transfer rates being on the side of the hemispherical from which planar oblique shock wave is incident. Also, it is observed that for the interactions which appear within the sonic circle, Edney Type-III and Edney Type-IV, the heat transfer rates observe an unsteadiness, such that the gauges located close to the interaction region experiencing varying heat transfer rates during the useful test time of the shock tunnel. Few experiments were conducted at Mach 8.36 (total enthalpy of 1.29 MJ/kg; freestream velocity of 1555.25 m/s) and Mach 10.14 (total enthalpy of 2.67 MJ/kg; freestream velocity of 2258.51 m/s) for the con gurations representing Edney Type-III interaction pattern to further evaluate the unsteady nature observed at Mach 5.62 ows. The unsteadiness was evident in both the cases. It is realized that the short test times in the shock tunnels pose a constraint in the study of unsteady flow fields, and the use of tailored mode operation of shock tunnel can alleviate this constraint. Also, limited number of experiments in the present study, which are carried out in a Free Piston Shock Tunnel, helps to understand the need to conduct such study in high enthalpy test conditions.

The application of non-intrusive experimental techniques is a break-through in the comprehension of the physical mechanisms governing roughness-induced transition in hypersonic flows. In this thesis, IR Thermography, Planar and Tomographic Particle Image Velocimetry are applied. They show a great potentiality in quantifying the most relevant flow features upstream and downstream of three-dimensional roughness elements. Particularly, non-intrusive measurements of the two-dimensional and three-dimensional velocity flow fields are reported and discussed.

Nanosecond spark plasma actuators provide an opportunity to reduce pollutants by promoting efficient combustion in engines or provide targeted, tunable, flow control over vehicles, due to their ability to influence flow and combustion through multiple mechanisms. The plasma actuators can be physically unobtrusive, can be turned on and off and their low duty cycle, large bandwidth, and light weight make them more appealing than other control approaches. One method by which these plasma actuators interact with the environment is by inducing a complex local flow field and in order, to design scalable, high frequency actuators effectively, it is necessary to first understand the flow induced by a single spark discharge. Most experimental analysis on the flow induced by spark discharges has been restricted to qualitative descriptions of the flow field, primarily due to the difficulties associated with measuring such a transient and highly complex flow with sufficient spatiotemporal resolution. Quantitative, experimental characterization of the flow induced by a spark discharge remains lacking.

A spark discharge produces a shock wave and a hot gas kernel with a complex flow field following the shock. In this work, combined experimental and theoretical characterization of the spark induced flow is performed through a series of high spatiotemporal resolution measurements of the density and velocity fields and reduced-order modeling. The work investigates the mechanisms driving the cooling and vorticity generation in spark induced flow and the 3D nature of the flow field. Planar (2D-3C) and volumetric (3D-3C) velocity measurements are taken using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV) and tomographic PIV, respectively. Density measurements are taken using background oriented schlieren (BOS) and high speed schlieren imaging is used to capture the shock wave induced by the spark.

The work shows that spark plasma discharges induce vortex rings whose vorticity is likely generated due to baroclinic torque arising from the non-uniform strength of the induced shock wave. The hot gas kernel cools in two stages: an initially fast cooling regime, followed by a slower cooling process. Reduced order analytical models are developed to describe the cooling observed in the fast regime and the role of the vortex rings in the entrainment of cold ambient gas and the cooling of the hot gas kernel. The results show that the vortex rings entrain ambient gas and drive cooling in the fast, convective regime, cooling approximately 50% of the hot gas within the first millisecond of the induced flow. An increase in the electrical energy deposited in the spark gap increases the shock strength and curvature and increases the vortex ring strength, thereby increasing the cooling rate and expansion of the hot gas kernel. The volumetric velocity measurements capture one of the two induced vortex rings and provide a framework for the improvements needed in future tomographic PIV experiments of the spark induced flow field, necessary in assessing the 3D nature of the induced vortex rings.

The results of this work provide the first set of quantitative, experimental data on flow induced by nanosecond spark discharges that can be used for validation of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results demonstrate that spark plasmas induce vortex ring-driven mixing flows and the results on mixing and cooling of the hot gas kernel can be extended to any passive scalars present in the flow field as well as inform pulsation frequencies and actuator designs for flow and combustion control. The results from the reduced order modeling can inform future studies and applications of nanosecond spark discharges and can be extended to a variety of other types of plasma discharges like laser sparks, long duration sparks and surface discharges with similar induced flow fields.