Flight Testing of Laminar Flow Control in High-Speed Boundary Layers

Abstract

This paper presents data from a series of laminar-flow flight tests at NASA Dryden flight Research Center on the F-15B. It is shown that periodic discrete roughness elements near the leading can increase the laminar flow region at both supersonic and subsonic flight Mach numbers. Infra-red thermography was used to visualize laminar-turbulent transition. Although the experiment was designed for Mach 1.85, it was possible to obtain data at other Mach numbers as well. the results at Mach 1.85 and 0.911 are presented. Unfortunately, flowfield nonuniformities limited the Mach number range and the extent of observed laminar flow. The results are encouraging that periodic discrete roughness elements near the leading edge can be used as a laminar flowing control technique.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA442442

Entities

People

  • Daniel W. Banks
  • Helen L. Reed
  • William S. Saric

Organizations

  • Arizona State University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Boundary Layer Transition
  • Flight
  • Flight Testing
  • Flow
  • Hypervelocity Flow
  • Laminar Flow
  • Layers
  • Leading Edges
  • Mach Number
  • Pressure Distribution
  • Pressure Measurement
  • Reynolds Number
  • Swept Wings

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aviation Science / Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Hypersonics
  • Hypersonics - Hypersonic Boundary Layers
  • Hypersonics - Hypersonic Flow