Experimental investigation of expansion effect on shock wave boundary layer interaction near a compression ramp

The experiment is conducted to investigate the effect of expansion on the shock wave boundary layer interaction near a compression ramp. The small-angle expansion with an angle degree of 5° occurs at different positions in front of the compression ramp. The particle image velocimetry and flow visualization technology show the flow structures, velocity field, and velocity fluctuation near the compression ramp. The mean pressure distribution, pressure fluctuation, and power spectral density are measured by high-frequency response pressure transducers. The experimental results indicate that the expansion before the compression ramp position affects the shock wave boundary layer interaction to induce a large-scale separation. But the velocity fluctuation and pressure fluctuation are attenuated near the large-scale flow separation region. When the expansion occurs closer to the compression ramp, the expansion has a more significant impact on the flow. The fluctuation of velocity and pressure is significantly attenuated, and the wall pressure rise of the separation point is reduced obviously. And the characteristic low-frequency spectrum signal related to the unsteadiness of the shock wave boundary layer interaction is significantly suppressed. In addition, variation of the separation region scale at different compression angle degrees is distinctive with the effect of expansion.