Effect of shock strength on oblique shock-wave/vortex interaction

An experimental study of the interaction between streamwise vortices and two-dimensional oblique shock waves has been conducted at Mach 2.5. The experiments involved positioning an instrumented two-dimensional wedge downstream of a semispan wing so that the trailing tip vortex from the wing interacted with the oblique shock wave formed over the wedge surface. The experiments were designed to simulate interaction of streamwise vortices with shock waves formed over aerodynamic surfaces or in supersonic inlets. The influence of oblique shock wave intensity on this inherently three-dimensional interaction was examined for vortices of variable strength. Results indicate that the interaction of a moderate strength vortex with an oblique shock wave can lead to the formation of a steady separated shock structure upstream of the oblique shock front. A significant expansion of the vortex core is observed in these cases, and the scale of the structure increases with shock wave intensity. In some instances the separated shock structure continues through the oblique shock front to strike the shock-generating wedge forming a three-dimensional shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction. The experiments indicate that significant distortion of streamwise vortices can be precipitated by oblique shock fronts with supersonic downstream conditions.