Hypersonic viscous interaction on curved surfaces

Abstract

Cheng's analysis of strong viscous interaction between a laminar boundary layer growing over a flat plate and the external hypersonic flow field is extended to cover curved surfaces. It is demonstrated that the solutions for some concave surfaces are oscillatory and quantitatively unrealistic. The reason for this behaviour is that the Busemann term in the Newton–Busemann pressure law used in Cheng's analysis over-corrects for centrifugal effects. The removal of the Busemann term or the substitution of the tangent-wedge pressure law results in an alternative analysis which can cover both strong and weak viscous interaction over a wide variety of two-dimensional shapes. A number of examples are included together with comparative experimental data.