Interaction of shock train with cavity shear layer in a scramjet isolator

The interaction between the self-excited shock train flow and the cavity shear layer in a scramjet isolator is investigated numerically using detached-eddy simulations. The effect of changing the position of the shock train by controlling the back pressure ratio and the effect of changing the cavity front wall angle are analyzed using unsteady statistics and modal analysis. The propagation mechanism of the pressure disturbance was investigated by spatiotemporal cross-correlation coefficient analysis. In the present numerical study, a constant isolator section with a cavity front wall (θ = 90° and 60°) was considered, followed by a diffuser section simulated at Mach number 2.2 with three different back pressure ratios (pb/p∞ = 0.7, 5.0, and 6.0). The change in back pressure provides three different conditions (i.e., no shock train, shock train ends before the leading edge of the cavity, and shock train present above the cavity). To understand the unsteady dynamics of the interaction of the shear layer with the shock train, the spatiotemporal trajectory of the wall pressure and the centerline pressure distribution, the spatiotemporal cross-correlation coefficient, and the modal analysis by dynamic mode decomposition are obtained. The results show that the low-frequency shock train oscillation dominates the self-sustained cavity oscillation. The spatiotemporal cross-correlation between the wall surface and the center of the cavity bottom wall indicates the propagation of local disturbances originating from the separated boundary layer caused by the shock and the recirculation zone in the corners of the cavity. Dynamic mode decomposition analysis shows the shear layer at the leading edge of the cavity and the downstream propagation of large eddies from the cavity. It also shows the pairing of coherent structures between the shock train and the recirculation zone of the cavity.