Numerical investigation of unsteady heat transfer on a double wedge geometry in hypervelocity flows

In recent experiments performed at the University of Illinois, nitrogen and air flows over a double wedge geometry at Mach numbers varying from 4-7 and stagnation enthalpies varying from 2.1-8.0 MJ/kg were investigated. Selected cases from these experiments are simulated using US3D to ascertain the ability of state-of-the-art finite-volume hypersonic flow solvers to replicate experimental results. Two-dimensional simulations predict an unsteady separation and shock-shock interaction under both reacting and non-reacting conditions. The numerical solutions reach a time-periodic solution for certain experimental conditions. Good agreement is observed between experiment and two-dimensional simulations of the Mach 7 flow conditions when the simulations are limited to the experimental run-time. When run to a large number of flowtimes, the agreement is poor. Three-dimensional simulations of these free-stream conditions show non-uniformities in the wedge boundary layer during flow development.