Passive Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Control Using an Ultrasonically Absorptive Coating With Random Microstructure: Computational Analysis Based on the Ultrasonic Absorption Properties of Carbon-Carbon

Previous investigations in the High Enthalpy Shock Tunnel Göttingen of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) show that carbon fiber reinforced carbon ceramic (C/C) surfaces can be utilized to damp hypersonic boundary layer instabilities resulting in a delay of boundary layer transition onset. Linear stability analyses were performed using the DLR stability code NOLOT, NOnLocal Transition analysis code. To adapt the boundary condition to account for the characteristics of porous C/C material, the ultrasonic absorption properties of C/C were investigated experimentally and theoretically. Therefore, a test rig was set up to directly measure the reflection coefficient in the frequency and pressure range corresponding to the test conditions in HEG. In this frame, the reflection of ultrasonic waves from flat plate test samples with different porous layer thicknesses was investigated and compared to an ideally reflecting surface.The obtained results were used to improved the boundary condition used for stability analysis above porous surfaces. The numerical results, using the original as well as the improved boundary condition, were compared with wind tunnel tests. These experiments were performed at Mach 7.5 and different unit Reynolds numbers. A 7∘ half-angle cone model with a nose radius of 2.5 mm and a total length of 1077 mm was used. One-third of the metallic model surface in circumferential direction was replaced by C/C ceramics. The comparison between numeric and experiments includes the investigations of the second modes, the damping of the these modes and the resulting transition shift.