Experimental Investigation of Transverse Jet Interaction in Low-Density Hypersonic Crossflows

Transverse jets have been effectively employed for attitude/orbit control within the aerospace applications. However, there is a paucity of experimental data on the flow characteristics of transverse jet interaction with hypersonic crossflows at high flight attitudes, particularly those associated with low-density and high-temperature conditions. This study aims to experimentally investigate the flow characteristics of transverse jets in a hypersonic crossflow using a flat-plate model. Schlieren imaging, nitric oxide planar laser-induced fluorescence (NO-PLIF) imaging, and pressure transducer techniques are employed to visualize flow structures and conduct parametric measurements. Numerical simulations are conducted to shed light on the flow structures and elucidate the underlying mechanisms as well. The results indicate that NO-PLIF imaging can effectively capture the spatially resolved structures surrounding the jet exit. Both the Mach disk height and barrel shock width are positively correlated with the jet momentum ratio [Formula: see text] and angle of attack [Formula: see text]. Furthermore, the pressure plateau and peak distribution upstream and downstream of the sonic orifice are also significantly influenced by [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. Specifically, peak pressure increases with an increase in [Formula: see text], while it drops for a larger [Formula: see text]. These results enhance our understanding of flow characteristics of transverse jet interactions in low-density, high-temperature hypersonic crossflows and provide validations for subsequent numerical simulations.