5. Control
The traditional approach for SBLI control has centered around mass transfer. Bleed is frequently employed to alter the properties of the boundary layer, for example reducing its shape factor thus making it more robust to adverse pressure gradients, while blowing and transpiration are considerations for cooling purposes. The basic challenges in the use of mass transfer have been discussed in Ref. [4], which summarizes several issues such as determination of optimal regions including location, distribution and inclination of holes or porosity. Simulations on a 3-D interaction due to a sharp fin with bleed and zero mass flux techniques may be found in Refs. [159] and [160] respectively.
The recent decade has seen the development and application of several passive and active methods. Reference [161] discusses the use of Mesoflaps for Aeroelastic Recirculating Transpiration (MARTs), which use variable deformation aeroelastic flaps to exploit pressure differentials at different locations to induce advantageous recirculation. Experimental results indicate that certain arrays of such devices could yield significant improvements in pressure recovery of a normal shock interaction. Ghosh et al. [136] simulate this flow using an immersed boundary method and RANS and hybrid RANS/LES models. Their results suggest that for the configuration tested, there is a possibility of a connection between the dominant frequency of the flap and the low frequency shock motion and further that the axial separation is not substantially influenced by the control system.
Streamwise slots have also been shown to yield a degree of control authority as discussed in Ref. [162]. The effect of these essentially 3-D devices, i.e., segmented in the spanwise direction, was shown to have a “global control effect and lead to reduced stagnation pressure loss,” with the original 2-D separation bubble being divided into “highly three-dimensional regions of attached and separated flows.” Bumps have also been employed to generate similar effects: in Ref. [163], different configurations were evaluated to essentially break up the 2-D separation region associated with a normal shock interaction by generating streamwise vortex pairs. The use of protuberances (microramps [164] or microvortex generators) to generate such vortices to enhance entrainment and mixing has also been discussed in a recent effort by Lee et al. [165]. The effectiveness was shown to be higher at lower Mach numbers (1.4) than at higher values (3.0), a fact that was correlated to faster decay of streamwise vorticity and turbulent kinetic energy at higher speeds. Comparisons of different passive concepts have also been tested: for example, Ref. [166] assesses bleed versus micro-vortex generators on boundary layers by examining their effects on the shape parameter and skin friction. The effectiveness of combinations of bleed and vortex generators to address the corner flow and the central nominal 2-D SBLI has been presented in Ref. [167]. The results appear to indicate that the use of vortex generators is potentially helpful if the flow is truly nominally two-dimensional.
The emphasis in recent years has shifted to active flow control. Microjets [168] have recently been used by Ali et al. [169] to explore SBLI control. The configuration and selected results are shown in Fig. 15. The steady jets, placed upstream of a 24° compression ramp at Mach 2, generate supersonic cross flow, which effectively mute the separation shock with significant reduction in the mean pressure downstream of the separation shock (7%) and on the ramp surface (25%) and accompanying reduction in unsteadiness. Verma et al. [170] focus on amplitude of shock unsteadiness in the same interaction, with jets placed 12.5δ upstream of the corner in two different configurations, number and orientation of the devices. The results depend on the specific arrangement as well as the jet stagnation pressure, but up to 67% reduction in peak rms value was observed with certain settings.