Heat transfer measurements in swept shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interactions

An experimental research program providing basic knowledge and establishing a database on the heat transfer in three-dimensional shock wave/boundary-layer interaction is described. High thermal loading in such interactions constitutes a fundamental problem of critical concern to future supersonic and hypersonic flight vehicles. A turbulent boundary-layer on a flat plate is subjected to interactions with swept planar shock waves generated by a sharp fin. Fin angles from 10{dollar}spcirc{dollar} to 20{dollar}spcirc{dollar} at freestream Mach numbers 3.0 and 4.0 produce a variety of interaction strengths from weak to very strong. A foil heater generates a uniform heat flux over the surface of interest and thin-film resistance thermometers mounted on it are used to measure the local surface temperature. The heat convection equation is then used to calculate the local heat transfer coefficients. The present heat transfer technique is applied to measure heat transfer distributions for 5 different interaction cases. The experimental data are compared with numerical Navier-Stokes solutions. The estimation of total uncertainty of the present measurements is about {dollar}pm{dollar}10%, which makes them suitable for CFD code validation purposes. The measured peak heat transfer data are correlated with the normal Mach number based on the concept of the quasi-conical nature of such interactions, and the results show good agreement with other experimental data.