On the mechanism by which nose bluntness suppresses second-mode instability
Armani Batista, Arham Amin Khan, Joseph Kuehl
Abstract
A physical mechanism by which nose bluntness suppresses second-mode instability is proposed. Considered are 7 degree half-angle straight cones with nose bluntness radii of 0.15 mm, 3.556 mm, 5 mm, 9.525 mm, 12.7 mm and 25.4 mm at tunnel conditions relevant to the AFOSR-Notre Dame Large Mach 6 Quiet Tunnel. It is shown that second-mode suppression is achieved via entropy layer modulation of the basic state density gradient. A weakening of the density gradient disrupts the acoustic resonance necessary to sustain second-mode growth. These results are consistent with the thermoacoustic interpretation which posits that second-mode instability can be modeled as thermoacoustic resonance of acoustic energy trapped within an acoustic impedance well. Furthermore, the generalized inflection point criterion of Lees and Lin is applied to develop a criterion for the existence of second-mode instability based on the strength of the basic state density gradient.