Analysis of transonic buffet on ONERA-M4 model with unsteady pressure-sensitive paint

Abstract: The transonic buffet on an ONERA-M4 model was experimentally investigated using an unsteady pressure-sensitive paint (PSP) in the present study. Wind tunnel tests were conducted in a blowdown-type transonic wind tunnel at a Mach number of 0.84 and a chord Reynolds number of 2.0 × 10 ⁶. The angle of attack was varied in between - 3. 0 ^∘ and 4. 0 ^∘. The left wing was painted with a polymer/ceramic PSP with low surface roughness, and the right wing was painted with a temperature-sensitive paint. The measured PSP data were processed to calculate time-series pressure coefficients, root-mean-squares pressure-coefficient fluctuations, power spectral density, coherence, and phase shift. The behavior of the unsteady pressure field was different from that observed for the NASA Common Research Model (CRM) in a previous study. The dominant frequency of the shock oscillation shifted from the low-Strouhal-number component (St< 0.05) to the bump Strouhal number (St= 0.11 for the center frequency) with increasing angle of attack. The separation processes with an increasing angle of attack were also found to be different for the two models. The separation starts from the mid-span region in the CRM, while the separation starts from the wingtip in the ONERA-M4 model. The characteristic pressure fluctuations known as “buffet cells” were not observed for the ONERA-M4 model. These differences are considered to be caused by the difference in model geometries, such as the wing twist and the airfoil cross-sectional profile. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]