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Some Experiments on the Reattachment of a Laminar Boundary Layer Separating From a Rearward Facing Step on a Flat Plate Aerofoil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

T. W. F. Moore*
Affiliation:
Guided Weapons Engineering Department, Bristol Aircraft Ltd.

Summary:

The results of experiments on the reattachment of a laminar boundary layer, separating from a rearward facing step in a flat plate aerofoil, are correlated with the properties of the short leading edge bubble which forms on thin aerofoils near the stall.

The experiments, comprising pressure measurements, Pitot explorations, liquid film and smoke studies, indicate that for all Reynolds numbers above the value given by the Owen-KIanfer criterion the reattachment is turbulent behind a stationary air reverse flow vortex bubble. It is also found that the reattachment is laminar for Reynolds numbers below the critical, which further supports Crabtree's interpretation of the Owen-KIanfer criterion in terms of the condition for the growth of turbulent bursts.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1960

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References

1.Owen, P. R. and Klanfer, L. (1953). On the laminar boundary layer separation from the leading edge of a thin aerofoil. A.R.C. C.P.220. October 1953.Google Scholar
2.Crabtree, L. F. (1957). Effects of Leading-Edge Separation on Thin Wings in Two-Dimensional Incompressible Flow. Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol. 24, p. 597, August, 1957.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Moore, T. W. F. (1959). A note on thin aerofoil stall. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 63, p. 724, December 1959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Crabtree, L. F. (1957). The formation of regions of separated flow on wing surfaces. Part II Laminar separation bubbles and the mechanism of the leading-edge stall. R.A.E. Report 2578. 1957.Google Scholar