A numerical study of laminar/transitional shock–boundary layer interaction on a hypersonic double wedge using a modified \(\gamma \)-transition model

Accurate prediction of the shock–boundary layer interactions (SBLIs) region, encompassing boundary layer separation, reattachment, and transition, is crucial for high-speed flows due to its impact on the aerothermodynamics and performance, particularly at hypersonic speed. Among various types of compression ramp SBLI (laminar, turbulent, or transitional), several experimental and numerical investigations on turbulent SBLI are available in the literature. However, very few RANS-based numerical studies exist on the high-speed laminar/transitional SBLI due to the complexity of modeling the boundary layer transition in hypersonic flows. This study numerically analyzes boundary layer transition and the SBLI interaction region of a double-wedge configuration at hypersonic speeds using a modified \(\gamma \)-transition model. An in-house solver developed with a transition model and SST k–\(\omega \) turbulence model is utilized for this study. A parametric analysis is also carried out to study the effect of wall temperature, wedge length, and wedge angle on the interaction region and transition for various types of compression ramp SBLI. The separation region of the boundary layer and the transition location were estimated using numerical schlieren and Stanton numbers for different parameters. The results show that the modified \(\gamma \)-model predicts the boundary layer separation, reattachment, and transition of laminar/transitional SBLI appropriately compared to a fully turbulent model for all considered parameters.