Turbulent amplification mechanism and inter-component energy transfer in strong and weak shock-wave turbulence boundary layer interaction

Turbulence amplification is crucial in shock-wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction (SWTBLI). To examine the impact of interaction intensity on turbulence amplification and inter-component energy transfer, direct numerical simulations of impinging oblique shock reflections at strong (37^◦) and weak (33.2^◦) incident angles are conducted. The results indicate that strong interaction generates a larger permanent separation zone, featuring the unique ‘oblique platform’ in Reynolds stress peaks and ‘secondary turbulence amplification’ downstream. Reynolds stress budget and spanwise spectral analyses reveal that uu and −uv amplify primarily by production terms. u, v and w represent the streamwise, wall-normal and spanwise velocity fluctuations. At the investigated Reynolds number, deceleration effect dominates the initial amplification of uu, influencing multi-scale wall-bounded turbulence structures, while shear effect remains active along the shear layer and may primarily affects streaky structures. The initial amplification of −uv is driven by the adverse pressure gradient, which reshapes the velocity profile and affects the wall-normal velocity. The primary energy for vv and ww amplification originates from uu via the pressure-strain term. The delayed amplification of vv is influenced by its production term and energy redistribution, with ww exhibiting higher spectral consistency with uu and receiving more energy. In strong interaction, the ‘oblique platform’ serves as a stable dissipation region, formed by increased separation–incident shock distance, characterised by progressively concentrated stress spectra and the transition to large-scale streaks. The downstream ‘secondary amplification’ process resembles the initial amplification near the separation shock foot, driven by intermittent compression waves that strengthen shear instabilities and the deceleration effect.