Simulations of mesoflap control for ramp-generated oblique shock/boundary-layer interactions

A novel flow-control method called mesoflaps for aeroelastic recirculation transpiration was computationally investigated for ramp-generated oblique shock/boundary-layer interactions (SBLIs). The numerical approach was first validated for three different ramp SBLI flows with a solid wall, in terms of both pressure distributions and velocity profiles. For the mesoflap flow-control method, a series of deflected flaps is placed over a cavity centered beneath the inception point of an oblique shock. The flow-control performance was investigated by measuring total pressure recovery and integral boundary-layer displacement thickness for a variety of preset flap deflection magnitudes and incoming Mach numbers. The control of an SBLI for a 16-deg compression corner with mesoflaps and incoming Mach numbers of 2.35-2.85 revealed significant improvement in total pressure recovery (as compared to the solid-wall case), especially as the deflections of the flaps increased. The lowest incoming Mach number investigated yielded the highest recovery of total pressure downstream of the shock. Although the flap cases yielded some increases in the displacement thickness and momentum thickness of the outgoing boundary layer as compared to the solid wall, the shape factor was maintained at approximately the same level as found for the solid-wall cases.