Surface Pressure Field underneath a Sharp Fin Generated Shock Boundary Layer Interaction Using BinaryFIB Pressure Sensitive Paint

The single sharp fin-generated shockwave boundary layer interaction (SBLI) has been the subject of numerous fundamental aerodynamic studies based on its ubiquitous presence in the supersonic aircraft design. The information extracted from experimental studies of the complex three dimensional flowfield have traditionally had a limited spatial resolution, predominantly due in part to physical restrictions imposed by instrumentation hardware. The current investigation utilizes BinaryFIB Pressure Sensitive Paint (PSP), which has a significantly reduced temperature sensitivity, to acquire high fidelity, global steady pressure measurements on surfaces underneath this particular SBLI. The PSP, in conjunction with selectively placed traditional pressure ports connected to an electronic pressure scanner, is used to obtain the pressure field. Measurements were carried out to discern the effect of Reynolds number (Re/m ~ 15 x 10⁶ – 110 x 10⁶) and interaction strength over a range of supersonic Mach numbers (M_∞=2 – 4). Additionally, PSP will allow for the study of hard to instrument regions, particularly the inception region and the surface of the fin.