A discussion is given of the ongoing research related to laminar flow airfoils, nacelles, and wings where the laminar flow is maintained by a favorable pressure gradient, surface suction or a combination of the two. Design methologies for natural laminar flow airfoil sections and wings for both low and high speed applications are outlined. Tests of a 7-foot chord, 23° sweep laminar-flow-control-airfoil at high subsonic Mach numbers are described along with the associated stability theory used to design the suction system. The state-of-the-art of stability theory is simply stated and a typical calculation illustrated. In addition recent computer simulations of transition using the time dependent Navier-Stokes (N-S) equations are briefly described. Advances in wind tunnel capabilities and instrumentation will be reviewed followed by the presentation of a few results from both wind tunnels and flight. Finally, some suggestions for future work will complete the paper.
Citation: Bobbltt, P., Waggoner, E., Harvey, W., and Dagenhart, J., "A Faster “Transition” to Laminar Flow," SAE Technical Paper 851855, 1985, https://doi.org/10.4271/851855. Download Citation
Author(s):
P. J. Bobbltt, E. G. Waggoner, W. D. Harvey, J. R. Dagenhart
Affiliated:
NASA Langley Research Center
Pages: 30
Event:
Aerospace Technology Conference and Exposition
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Also in:
SAE 1985 Transactions-V94-85
Related Topics:
Computer simulation
Wind tunnel tests
Wings
Research and development
Pressure
SAE MOBILUS
Subscribers can view annotate, and download all of SAE's content.
Learn More »