Protuberance interference heating in high-speed flow

Extensive experimental study was conducted on interference heating caused by protuberances protruding from a flat plate. Heating measurements were made on both the flat plate and the protuberances. The parametric study includes variation of protuberance dimensions, unit Reynolds number, flow length, and, consequently, boundary layer thickness. The protuberance can be either two- or three-dimensional, and the three-dimensional protuberance can either be submerged in the boundary layer or be infinitely long, with the flow on the flat plate either laminar or turbulent. The heating data were correlated in such a way that generalized heating prediction methods were developed for thermal design purposes. Based on heating characteristics, criteria were derived in this study for categorizing short, long, small, and large protuberances. The effect of protuberance interference on the flat plate boundary layer transition was also discussed.