Laurent Joly

We analyze the influence of microramp vortex generators (mVGs) on a canonical oblique shock wave/turbulent boundary-layer interaction (SBLI) in terms of mean flow field and unsteady dynamics. The flow configuration of our wall-resolved large-eddy simulations (LES) reproduces the experiment of Bo et al. [“Experimental investigation of the micro-ramp based shock wave and turbulent boundary-layer interaction control,” Phys. Fluids 24, 055110 (2012)]: a rake of microramps is inserted upstream of the SBLI, protruding by 0.476δ in a turbulent boundary layer (TBL) at free-stream Mach number M = 2.7 and corresponding to a Reynolds number based on the displacement thickness of Reθ=3600. The long integration time of 1672 Lsep/U∞ allows an accurate characterization of the low-frequency dynamics of the SBLI under the influence of the microramps. With respect to the reference SBLI without control devices, the mean flow field shows a new spatial organization of the recirculation bubble due to the mVGs' wake. The alternating high and low-speed zones in the near-wall region of the incoming TBL, induced by the counter-rotating streamwise vortices generated by the mVGs, trigger spanwise corrugations of the separation and reattachment lines and locally alter the reverse flow region. Tornado-like vortices are found in the vicinity of these zones, yielding a new fluid collection mechanism of the reverse flow region. These vortices redirect the fluid coming from regions outside of the wake in the incoming TBL to three key spanwise exit locations located in between the mVGs and at their centerline. Interestingly, power spectral densities of wall-pressure probes show a damping of the low-frequency dynamics of the reflected shock foot for spanwise stations aligned with the mVGs' wake, whereas this activity appears to be reinforced in the planes located in between the mVGs. However, we found no evidence of unsteady forcing linked to the high-frequency shedding of the coherent structures developing in the wake of the microramps. Dynamic mode decomposition highlights a significant change in the low-frequency dynamics, mostly affecting the mass budget of the recirculation bubble. The breathing of the recirculation zone that occurs at StL=0.1 for the SBLI without control devices (with StL=fLsep/U∞) appears to shift toward a lower frequency of StL=0.05. Remembering that the reflected shock foot motion is related to frequencies in the range StL=[0.03−0.05], the SBLI with upstream mVGs seems to highlight a synchronization of this motion with the breathing of the separation bubble.