Coherent structure tracking of the second Mack mode in transitional hypersonic boundary layers

Abstract

Abstract The natural transition of hypersonic boundary layers (HBLs) is often expressed in terms of discrete modes and their linear stability. A frequent interpretation revolves around fast and slow acoustic modes interacting in the vicinity of the vortical/entropic branches of the continuous spectrum found from stability analyses. Yet several transition scenarios are contingent upon factors such as the spectral content of the free-stream disturbances, or the interactions between the discrete modes within the boundary layer and the free-stream disturbances near the leading edge which can be decomposed into vortical, acoustic and entropic nature based on the fluid-thermodynamic (FT) components. Yet the interpretations of linear stability applied to discrete modes can lead to semantic conflicts with the terminology of FT components. To clarify the current description of the processes involved, this study chooses an approach aimed at characterizing the dynamics of the second Mack mode in transitional HBLs through coherent structure tracking. The method involves decomposing the flow perturbations into acoustic, vortical and entropic content, and following their associated coherent structures over time. For this purpose, direct numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the dynamics of the second Mack mode instability in two-dimensional HBLs, considering a flow at Mach 6 over a cooled and an insulated wall. It is found that vortical structures coexist at different heights along the wall surface, forming alternating sign doublets around the critical layer and above the relative sonic line. These structures are found to merge in the region of maximum second Mack mode instability.