Transition in compressible free shear layers.

The transition Reynolds number for shear layers produced by interactions between weak and strong shock waves is determined on the basis of experiments performed in a 20-in. (Mach 6) and an 11-in. (Mach 6.9) hypersonic tunnel. A variable angle wedge was used to generate a planar shock wave which interacted with the bow wave of a blunt body. An average value of the transition length (defined as the length along the shear layer from the shock interaction to the point where turbulence became visible on schlieren photographs) was used to determine the transition Reynolds number.