Book Description

Condtions encountered in the high Mach number flow regime are show to profoundly affect the longitudinal extent of the boundary layer from beginning to end of transition, the distribution of fluctuation energy in the laminar layer, and effectiveness of surface roughness in promoting transition. A critical layer of intense local energy fluctuations was found at all Mach numbers studied. The existence of such a critical layer is predicted by stability theory. Hot-wire surveys of the laminar, transitional, and turbulent boundary layers are presented to illustrate the critical layer in laminar flow and subsequent development into the transition process. The relation between boundary layer transition on flat plates and cones in supersonic flow is explored and a process for correcting data to account for leading edge bluntness is devised. On the basis of a comparison of data corrected for the effects of leading edge geometry, it is shown that the Reynolds umber of transition on a cone is three times that on a vanishingly thin flate plate. Close agreement between data from various wind tunnels is demonstrated. Study of the effect of finite leading edges yields significant illustrations of the influence of unit Reynolds number on boundary layer transition. A correlation of the effects of surface roughness on transition is achieved. This treatment includes two- and three-dimensional roughness in both subsonic and supersonic streams. At this time only zero pressure gradients have been studied. The entire range of movement of transition from its position with no roughness up to its reaching the roughness element is describable by the procedure give. Examples of application of the correlation results show excellent agreement with experimental data from a variety of sources. Implications concerning tripping hypersonic boundary layers are discussed.