Direct simulation of transitional shock boundary-layer interactions at Mach 2

Direct simulation of transitional shock boundary-layer interactions at Mach 2 has been carried out by solving the Navier-Stokes equations. The undisturbed two-dimensional base flow was simulated and validated first, followed by a linear stability analysis to identify the most unstable modes. The linear stability predictions are compared with results from two- and three-dimensional unsteady simulations. The overall amplification factors seen in theory and simulations are consistent, with the observations of transition in laboratory experiments. This indicates that parallel flow inviscid stability analysis is a useful tool to predict transition in these flows. Simulation of the early, nonlinear stages of transition show the presence of streamwise vortical structures.