Growth and breakdown of wave packets in a high-speed boundary layer

Abstract

The recent study of Laurence et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 797, 2016, pp. 471-503) develops a new Schlieren-based technique for investigating instabilities and transition in hypersonic boundary layers. This method enables pioneering measurements in a reflected-shock wind tunnel of the characteristics of the second mode of instability on a slender cone, within very short time scales (approximately 1 ms). The visualization technique was shown to resolve the structural evolution of individual wave packets. It was revealed that the disturbance strength concentrates near the wall for high-enthalpy conditions.