In this study, a linear reduced-order model of flow fields around a NACA0015 is constructed based on time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) data. The PIV data were obtained at the chord Reynolds number of 6.4 × 104, and angles of attack from 11° to 20°. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) analysis is employed for the PIV data and the degrees of freedom are reduced by truncating the POD modes. Next, a linear model of the POD modes is constructed using the least-squares method based on the POD-mode time histories. Although the estimated POD modes initially reproduce original data, they gradually attenuate and converge to zero. This behavior is also supported by the eigenvalue analysis results of the model's coefficient matrices. In addition, the behavior of the low-order (more energetic) POD modes was reproduced better than that of the high-order (less energetic) POD modes. These results imply that the temporal fluctuation of large vortex structures has strong linearity and is not significantly affected by noise included in data. The former insight is also supported by the fact that the behaviors of POD modes were reproduced well in the case of high angle of attack.

The Reynolds number effect on the aeroacoustic fields of a supersonic jet was experimentally investigated via particle image velocimetry (PIV), schlieren visualization, and near-field acoustic measurements. Cold supersonic jets under ideally expanded conditions at a Mach number of 2.0 were produced with the Reynolds number, based on the diameter of the nozzle exit, ranging from 10⁵ to 10⁶. This study focuses on the laminar-to-turbulent transition of a supersonic jet, including a transitional condition (Re ≈ 10⁵). The PIV results of the high-Reynolds-number jet (Re = 10⁶), which exhibited a fully turbulent shear layer at the nozzle exit, show a linear growth of the shear layer width. Conversely, a significant increase in the turbulent fluctuations and a drastic change in the shear-layer-growth rate were observed near the transition region in the case of the low-Reynolds-number jet (Re = 10⁵). The schlieren visualization and acoustic measurements imply that the turbulent fluctuations of the transition generated strong Mach waves. The effect of disturbing the nozzle flow was also investigated because the laminar-to-turbulent transition is sensitive to the initial disturbance. A physical disturbance added in the inlet of the low-Reynolds-number jet (Re = 10⁵) can promote an earlier transition and suppress a significant increase in the turbulence fluctuations outside the nozzle. The changes in the flow fields due to the disturbance result in a decrease in the sound pressure level. Therefore, the aeroacoustic fields of the low-Reynolds-number jet with the disturbance show similar trends to those of the high-Reynolds-number jet (Re = 10⁶), which already exhibited a fully turbulent shear layer at the nozzle exit.