Flow Visualization of Supersonic Flow over a Finite Cylinder

The flow structures of a supersonic flow over a cylinder with a finite height are investigated using the method of flow visualization with nanoparticle-based planar laser scattering (NPLS), in a supersonic quiet wind tunnel at Ma = 2.68. The complex structures of shock waves and three-dimensional vortices in a supersonic flow over a finite cylinder are visualized. Based on the time correlation of NPLS images, the time-space evolutionary characteristics of the coherent structures in a supersonic flow over a finite cylinder are studied, and the evolutionary characteristics of the coherent structure in the flow direction are obtained, which are used to identify the model and rotation direction of shedding vortices.