The boundary layer transition at supersonic velocities

The transition to turbulent flow in a boundary layer at supersonic velocities, the study of which was started at the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR on the initiative of V. V. Struminskii is considered. It is shown that complex investigations into this problem, including the stability of the laminar boundary layer and structure of the perturbations in the operational part of a wind tunnel at supersonic velocities, enable the mechanism of the boundary layer transition on a flat plate to be established and demonstrate the decisive effect of the spectral composition of the external flow perturbations and the blunting of the leading edge of the model that enables one to determine the role of the unit Reynolds number.