Flow Behind a Step in High-Enthalpy Laminar Hypersonic Flow

The features associated with a separated flow in high-enthalpy high Mach number hypersonic flow has been discussed. An analytical approach, based on the triple-deck theory, has been proposed by Messiter to predict both the base pressure and the pressure distribution behind the step in moderate Mach number and Reynolds number flows. The critical wall temperature ratio is of the order of 0.5 to 0.7, while the actual wall temperature ratios obtained in hypersonic short-duration facilities are usually much less. It has been showed that for a 60% reduction in wall temperature ratio (compared to the adiabatic value), the separation bubble length reduced by 30% and the temperature index n varied between 1.25 and 1.34 being inversely proportional to the wall temperature ratio. The results showed that within the framework of hypersonic small disturbance theory, it is possible to extend the Messiter approach to hypersonic flows.