This report presents the results of a short analytical study of the turbulent wall pressure field under supersonic shear layers. The study is based on a new, hitherto unpublished, theory of wall turbulence which is accordingly presented in some detail herein. The theory asserts that the turbulent transfer of mass, heat, momentum and energy within the boundary layer are essentially effected within discrete, horseshoe-vortex structures which are generated and maintained by powerful, localized non-linear instabilities within the sublayer and which move downstream over the wall in a characteristic, quasi-frozen, spatial array. In particular, the theory explains the generation of turbulent shear stress in terms of the dynamic interaction between these vortex systems and the basic shear flow through which they move. It suggests, furthermore, that the turbulent wall pressure field is an essential and integral part of the turbulent shear stress mechanism and hence provides a new analytical basis for the study of boundary layer noise.
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