Experiments on Shock Induced Laminar-Turbulent Transition on a Flat Plate at Mach 6

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the experiments performed in the hypersonic wind tunnel H2K in the framework of the ESA technology research project “Laminar to Turbulent Transition in Hypersonic Flows”. The investigations include the free boundary layer transition on a flat plate as well as the influence of a shock wave boundary layer interaction on the transition. The experiments were performed at Mach 6:0 at three different unit Reynolds numbers and with a translational displacement of the shock generator. Besides the optical methods schlieren photography and infrared thermography several high-speed intrusive sensors were used. Heat flux measurements were carried out using coaxial thermocouples, thin film gauges and an atomic layer thermo pile. Kulite and PCB sensors were used for pressure measurements. This paper concentrates on the heat flux measurements and includes just a glance on the pressure measurements.