Numerical investigation of shock wave boundary layer interaction management in supersonic duct with repeated backward facing steps configuration

This study investigates the influence of Repeated Backward-Facing Steps (RBFS) on shockwave-boundary layer interactions (SWBLIs) in a supersonic flow environment. The RBFS configurations were strategically positioned on the lower surface of a rectangular duct to interact with an oblique shockwave reflected by a shock reflector. Numerical simulations were conducted at a Mach number of 3, solving the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations using the k-ω turbulence model in the commercially available software ANSYS. Four distinct RBFS configurations were analysed and compared against a base model to evaluate their performance. The horizontal positions of the RBFS were systematically varied to examine their influence on the flow dynamics. The results demonstrated significant improvements in controlling shock-induced separation across all modified cases. This study also provides a detailed evaluation of the complex flow behaviour introduced by the RBFS configurations, showcasing their potential to enhance aerodynamic performance in supersonic applications. Performance parameters such as pressure recovery were also calculated at various spanwise locations. All RBFS cases showed considerable enhancements in velocity profiles near the wall surface, highlighting the effectiveness of RBFS in improving flow stability. Case 3 demonstrated the most significant improvements across several performance metrics.