Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 February 2016
An experimental investigation was performed to study the effects of surface roughness on the Mach 8·2 hypersonic turbulent shockwave–boundary-layer interaction characteristics of a deflected control flap configuration. In particular, the surface pressure and heat transfer distribution along a quasi-2D ramp compression corner model was measured for flap angles between 0° and 38°, along with a Schlieren flow visualisation study. It was found that surface roughness, of scale 10% of the hinge-line boundary layer thickness, significantly increased the extent of the interaction, while increasing the magnitude of the peak pressure and heat flux just aft of reattachment. The incipient separation angle for a fully turbulent, Mach 8·2 boundary layer with a hinge line Reynolds number of 1·44 × 106, was estimated at 28-29°, reducing to between 19-22° with the introduction of laminar sub-layer scale surface roughness.