Supersonic triple deck flow past a flat plate with an elastic stretch

Abstract

The steady laminar supersonic flow past a flat plate having a stretch of an elastic membrane, the pressure on the other side of which is adjustable, is studied within the framework of the triple deck theory. The resulting lower deck problem is supplemented with a membrane equation relating the pressure difference across the membrane to its curvature. By pressurizing or depressurizing the membrane, it assumes the form of a hump or a dent that alters the flow characteristics. Numerical solutions obtained, in either case, give plausible account of the interaction between the membrane and the flow.