An Experimental Study on the Influence of Vortex Generators on the Shock-Induced Boundary Layer Separation at $M=1.4$

The results of an investigation into the effects that sub-boundary layer vortex generators (SBVGs) have on reducing normal shock-induced turbulent boundary layer separation are presented. The freestream Mach number and Reynolds number were $M=1.45$ and $R=15.9×106/m$⁠, respectively. Total pressure profiles, static pressure distributions, surface total pressure (Preston pressure) distributions, oil flow visualization, and Schlieren photographs were used in the result analysis. The effects of SBVG height and the location upstream of the shock were investigated. A novel tetrahedron shape SBVG with different lengths (30 mm and 60 mm) was used for these experiments. The effect of streamwise location of the longer SBVG on the interaction was also investigated. The location of the shock wave was controlled by an adjustable choke mechanism located downstream of the working section. The results show that an increase in the distance for the longer SBVG from $17.4δR$ to $25.5δR$ did not remove the separation entirely, but the shorter SBVG provided higher total pressure distribution within the boundary layer in the recovery region. This also provided a healthier boundary layer profile downstream of the interaction region with lower displacement thickness and shape factor.