The response of a compressible turbulent boundary layer to short regions of concave surface curvature

An experimental investigation of the supersonic flow of a boundary layer over short regions of concave surface curvature, using radii of curvature equivalent to 10 and 50 (models I and II, respectively) initial boundary layer thicknesses and 8-deg turning angle, notes that the boundary layer experienced a strong adverse pressure gradient as the boundary layer passed through the curved region. Attention is given to the mean and turbulent field for each flow, with comparisons of results to those for an 8-deg ramp. In the ramp and model I, turbulence levels increased significantly, together with structural parameters; in model II, despite an increase in turbulence levels, structural parameters remained essentially unchanged. The former results suggest that the perturbation is rapid, and describable in terms of total rather than local strains.