Unsteady flow organization of compressible planar base flows

The unsteady flow features of a series of two-dimensional, planar base flows are examined, within a range of low-supersonic Mach numbers in order to gain a better understanding of the effects of compressibility on the organized global dynamics. Particle image velocimetry is used as the primary diagnostic tool in order to characterize the instantaneous near wake behavior, in combination with data processing using proper orthogonal decomposition. The results show that the mean flowfields are simplified representations of the instantaneous flow organizations. Generally, each test case can be characterized by a predominant global mode, which undergoes an evolution with compressibility, within the Mach number range considered. The term “global mode” is defined herein as an organized global dynamical behavior of the near wake region, recognizing that the near wake dynamics may be describable in terms of several global modes. At Mach 1.46, the predominant global mode can be characterized by a sinuous or flapping motion. With increasing compressibility, this flapping mode decreases, and the predominant global mode evolves into a pulsating motion aligned with the wake axis at Mach 2.27. These global modes play an important role in the distributed nature of the turbulence properties. The turbulent mixing processes become increasingly confined to a narrower redeveloping wake with increasing compressibility. Global maximum levels of the streamwise turbulence intensity and the kinematic Reynolds shear stress occur within the vicinity of the mean reattachment location, and show no systematic trend with compressibility. In contrast, the global maximum level of the vertical turbulence intensity moves upstream from the redeveloping wake toward the mean reattachment location. The vertical turbulence intensity decays thereafter more slowly than the other turbulence quantities. Overall, the local maximum levels of the turbulence properties decrease appreciably with increasing compressibility. © 2007 American Institute of Physics. DOI: 10.1063/1.2739411