Turbulence structures and statistics of a supersonic turbulent boundary layer subjected to concave surface curvature

Supersonic turbulent flows at Mach 2.7 over concave surfaces for two different radii of curvature were investigated and compared with a flat plate turbulent boundary layer using direct numerical simulations. The streamwise velocity reduces in the outer part of the boundary layer due to compression, while it increases near the wall due to curvature, with a higher shape factor for the concave cases. The near-wall spanwise streak spacing reduces compared to the flat plate, with large-scale streaks and turbulence amplification also observed. Streamwise velocity iso-surfaces and streamlines show the generation of Gortler-like vortices, consistent with significant centrifugal effects. Abundant small vortices are shown to be associated with large baroclinic production of vorticity that is caused by the density and pressure gradients that are associated with concave compression. Profiles of turbulent kinetic energy and turbulent Mach number exhibit a characteristic two-layer structure in the concave boundary layer cases. In the outer layer, turbulence is greatly amplified, whereas a local balance exists in the inner layer. Turbulent energy budget analysis shows that both production and dissipation increase near the concave wall, whereas in the outer part of the boundary layer, the production is increased and ultimately balanced by convection and turbulent transport.