Transition Prediction in Hypersonic Boundary Layers Using Receptivity and Freestream Spectra

Abstract: Boundary-layer transition in hypersonic flows over a straight cone can be predicted using measured freestream spectra, receptivity, and threshold values for the wall pressure fluctuations at the transition onset points. Simulations are performed for hypersonic boundary-layer flows over a 7-degree half-angle straight cone with varying bluntness at a freestream Mach number of 10. The steady and the unsteady flow fields are obtained by solving the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations in axisy…