Dynamics of a 3-D inlet/isolator measured with fast pressure-sensitive paint

Abstract Fast pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) was applied to an inlet/isolator designed using the Osculating Internal Waverider Inlet with Parallel Streamlines (OIWPS) method. The dorsal isolator surface pressure was measured using anodized-aluminum PSP through transparent cast acrylic that makes up the ventral portion of the isolator. Temperature-sensitive paint was utilized to correct for the PSP’s temperature sensitivity. The model was tested under Mach 5.7 flow at Re $$=$$ = 8.5 $$\times 10^6$$ × 10 6 /m and 10.2 $$\times 10^6$$ × 10 6 /m in the AFOSR–Notre Dame Large Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel (ANDLM6QT) under conventional noise conditions. Flow phenomena, such as shocks originating in the inlet and flow separation at the throat, were visualized with high spatial resolution. The dynamics measured by the PSP and pressure transducers matched well where the spectral signal-to-noise ratio was above unity. Power spectral densities showed significant frequency content at $$\approx$$ ≈ 1 kHz in the shock-wave/boundary-layer interaction (SWBLI) regions. Coherence analysis showed a linear relationship between the unsteady pressures at locations underneath different SWBLI in the isolator, with the exception of the Busemann throat shock. Temporal correlation of shock positions indicated that disturbances propagated downstream at 114% of the core-flow velocity; however, improved calculations of the core-flow velocity are needed to refine this assessment. The surface pressure fields at Re = 8.5 $$\times 10^6$$ × 10 6 /m and 10.2 $$\times 10^6$$ × 10 6 /m were quantitatively very similar, and the results in the ANDLM6QT were qualitatively similar to previous studies in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet Tunnel under noisy flow.