High Enthalpy Effects on Hypersonic Boundary-Layer Transition

• Kevin Graziose, Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware

• Joseph Kuehl, Mechanical Engineering, University of Delaware

This ongoing summer research project involves the analysis of test data obtained from Stevens University’s hypersonic tunnel. This test data explored four different parameters for an experimental geometry. Under the guidance of Dr. Kuehl, my professor, and his Ph.D. graduate student Tony, I created a mockup of the geometry using SolidWorks and used Pointwise gridding software. The computational analysis was performed on the University of Delaware’s supercomputer Caviness, which solved the Navier-Stokes equation for each grid square that made up the geometry. The process is iterative with the goal of reaching convergence with a low error residual. Once this occurs, stability analysis can begin. The two stability theories used to analyze the data were Linear Stability Theory (LST) and Linear Parabolized Stability Equations (LPSE). LST was used to identify unstable and stable regions and LPSE was used to determine the initial frequency of instability at specific locations on the geometry. These analyses were conducted for all four parameters, and the collected data will be shared with the experimental group. Additionally, I worked on automating the LPSE process to eliminate the need for manual analysis, which should be completed before the end of the summer.