Hypersonic Flows

High speed flows, generally above Mach 4 are qualitative different from subsonic and supersonic flows in terms of stability and physical characteristics

Futuristic civilian transport, space exploration and military technology all relies on accurate prediction and control of fluid flow in this regime

A major problem encountered here is transition - transition induces increased heating and drag on high-speed vehicles

We study the role of instabilities in perturbing these flows, causing transition to turbulence