Vortex Flow Correlation
Abstract
Key parameters have been identified which permit correlation of vortex flow simulations in a water tunnel with wind tunnel and flight data. Vortex generation, vortex sheet and core location, and a vortex strength on thin slender wings are accurately represented in a water tunnel due to the insensitivity of separation point location to changes in Reynolds number. The fact that theoretical methods which ignore viscous effects can reasonably predict vortex flow aerodynamics is one indication of the Reynolds number insensitivity of these flow phenomena. For wings and bodies where separation point varies with Reynolds number, the fundamental vortex structure is similar regardless of Reynolds number value since vortices at a distance from the generating surfaces are embedded in essentially irrotational flow. External pressure gradient is an important parameter affecting vortex stability and, although there is yet no theoretical verification that this parameter is the dominant one, vortex burst at higher angles of attack for a given configuration occurs at comparable positions in water tunnels as in wind tunnels and flight. A water tunnel is a powerful diagnostic tool capable of providing high-quality flow visualization of complex fluid flows and insight into the phenomenological aspects of vortex generation, interactions between multiple vortices and aerodynamic surfaces and vortex burst.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA108725
Entities
People
- Gary E. Erickson