Laminar Instability and Transition on the X-51A

Abstract

A 20% scale model of the X-51A forebody was tested in the Boeing/AFOSR Mach-6 Quiet tunnel. Freestream noise was found to have a major impact on transition on the windward and leeward vehicle surfaces. The effect of noise on transition was observed with a smooth wall and for roughness-induced transition on both surfaces. Temperature sensitive paint (TSP) and hot wires were used to characterize transition onset on the windward surface. The transition Reynolds number (Ret) increased by a factor of at least 2.2 for a smooth wall, 2.4 with ramp roughnesses, and 1.7 for diamond roughnesses when the freestream noise was decreased.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA504178

Entities

People

  • Matthew P. Borg

Organizations

  • Purdue University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boundary Layer
  • Boundary Layer Control
  • Boundary Layer Transition
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Fluid Flow
  • Fluid Mechanics
  • Geometry
  • Hypersonic Wind Tunnels
  • Measurement
  • Mechanics
  • Physics Laboratories
  • Pressure Measurement
  • Reynolds Number
  • Test Facilities
  • Three Dimensional
  • Wind Tunnels

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerodynamics/Aeronautics.
  • Fluid Dynamics.