Experimental study and direct numerical simulation of the evolution of disturbances in a viscous shock layer on a flat plate

The evolution of disturbances in a hypersonic viscous shock layer on a flat plate excited by slow-mode acoustic waves is considered numerically and experimentally. The parameters measured in the experiments performed with a free-stream Mach number $\mathrm{M}_\infty=21$ and Reynolds number $\mathrm{Re}_L=1,44 \cdot 10^5$ are the transverse profiles of the mean density and Mach number, the spectra of density fluctuations, and growth rates of natural disturbances. Direct numerical simulation of propagation of disturbances is performed by solving the Navier-Stokes equations with a high-order shock-capturing scheme. The numerical and experimental data characterizing the mean flow field, intensity of density fluctuations, and their growth rates are found to be in good agreement. Possible mechanisms of disturbance generation and evolution in the shock layer at hypersonic velocities are discussed.