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Schlieren-based techniques for investigating instability development and transition in a hypersonic boundary layer

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Abstract

Three variants of schlieren techniques are employed to investigate the development of second-mode instability waves in the hypersonic boundary layer of a slender cone in a reflected shock tunnel. First, a previously proposed technique using high frame rate (i.e., at least as high as the dominant instability frequency) schlieren visualization with a continuous light source is shown to provide repeatable measurements of the instability propagation speed and frequency. A modified version of the technique is then introduced whereby a pulsed light source allows the use of a higher-resolution camera with a lower frame rate: this provides significant benefits in terms of spatial resolution and total recording time. A detailed picture of the surface-normal intensity distribution for individual wave packets is obtained, and the images provide comprehensive insight into the unsteady flow structures within the boundary layer. Finally, two-point schlieren deflectometry is implemented and shown to be capable of providing second-mode growth information in the challenging shock tunnel environment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the HEG staff, in particular Jan Martinez Schramm, Ingo Schwendtke, Mario Jünemann, and Sarah Trost for assistance in preparing the model and running the tunnel; we are also grateful to N. Parziale for elucidating the FLDI technique.

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Author notes

  1. S. J. Laurence

    Present address: Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Spacecraft Department, Institute of Aerodynamics and Flow Technology, German Aerospace Center, Bunsenstr. 10, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    S. J. Laurence, A. Wagner & K. Hannemann

Authors
  1. S. J. Laurence
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  2. A. Wagner
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  3. K. Hannemann
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Correspondence to S. J. Laurence.

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Laurence, S.J., Wagner, A. & Hannemann, K. Schlieren-based techniques for investigating instability development and transition in a hypersonic boundary layer. Exp Fluids 55, 1782 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-014-1782-9

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