Interaction of shock waves with turbulent boundary layers can enhance the surface heat flux dramatically. Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulations based on constant turbulent Prandtl number often give grossly erroneous heat transfer predictions in shock/boundary-layer interaction (SBLI) flows. This is due to the fact that the underlying Morkovin's hypothesis breaks down in the presence of shock waves; thus, the turbulent Prandtl number can not be assumed to be a constant. We develop a new variable turbulent Prandtl number model based on linearized Rankine-Hugoniot conditions applied to shock-turbulence interaction. The turbulent Prandtl number is a function of the shock strength and we propose a shock-function to identify the location and strength of shock waves. The shock-function also simulates the post-shock decay of the turbulent heat flux observed in canonical shock-turbulence interaction. The model is combined with the well-validated shock-unsteadiness k-omega model, and is applied to the complex shock topology observed in the real life aerospace applications. Comparison with experimental data shows significant improvement in the surface heat transfer rate in the interaction region, both for attached and separated SBLI cases. A major advantage of the variable turbulent Prandtl number model proposed by us is its compact algebraic form. The turbulent Prandtl number value can be locally computed at each grid point in a flow computation, without solving elaborate transport equations available in the literature. As a result the model can be easily implemented in an existing CFD code. In a SBLI computation, the new model gives turbulent Prandtl number values lower than the conventionally accepted value of 0.89 for turbulent boundary layers. This reduces the surface heat flux in the region of the shock interaction. The peak heat transfer at the reattachment region is significantly reduced and the model prediction match experimental measurements.

1. Roy, S., and Sinha, K., "Variable turbulent Prandtl number model applied to hypersonic shock/boundary-layer interactions" 48th AIAA Fluid Dynamics conference, Atlanta United States of America, 25 - 29 June 2018.

2. Pathak, U., Roy, S., and Sinha, K., "A phenomenological model for turbulent heat flux in high-speed flows with shock-induced flow separation," Journal of Fluid Engineering, Vol. 140, No. 5, pp. 1-9, 2018.

3. Roy, S., Pathak, U., and Sinha, K., "Variable turbulent Prandtl number model for shock/boundary-layer interaction" AIAA Journal, Volume 56, Issue 1, pp. 342-355, 2018.

4. Vemula, J. B., Raje, P., Singh, R., Roy, S. and Sinha K., 10-11 August 2016, "Parametric study of the performance of two-dimensional Scramjet Intake", 18th Annual AeSI CFD Symposium, CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore, India.

B.E. in Aeronautical Engineering (Anna University)

Junior project officer at IIT KGP (2013-14).

Mob: 7506972702