EFFECT OF SHOCK STRENGTH ON OBLIQUE SHOCK-WAVE VORTEX INTERACTION/

An experimental study of the interaction between streamwise vortices a nd two-dimensional oblique shock waves has been conducted at Mach 2.5. The experiments involved positioning an instrumented two-dimensional wedge downstream of a semispan wing so that the trailing tip vortex fr om the wing interacted with the oblique shock wave formed over the wed ge surface. The experiments were designed to simulate interaction of s treamwise vortices with shock waves formed over aerodynamic surfaces o r in supersonic inlets. The influence of oblique shock wave intensity on this inherently three-dimensional interaction was examined for vort ices of variable strength. Results indicate that the interaction of a moderate strength vortex with an oblique shock wave can lead to the fo rmation of a steady separated shock structure upstream of the oblique shock front. A significant expansion of the vortex core is observed in these cases, and the scale of the structure increases with shock wave intensity. In some instances the separated shock structure continues through the oblique shock front to strike the shock-generating wedge f orming a three-dimensional shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction. The experiments indicate that significant distortion of streamwise vortice s can be precipitated by oblique shock fronts with supersonic downstre am conditions.