New Approaches to Understanding Roughness-Induced Transition

Abstract

With the goal of delaying boundary-layer transition that has the potential to dramatically reduce aircraft fuel consumption and improve range, the PI aims to 1) obtain a more general and fundamental understanding of roughness receptivity and explore how to exploit that knowledge to mitigate roughness-induced disturbances before they generate transition; and 2) study turbulent wedge physics as a simplified proxy for fully turbulent boundary layers. Specific objectives are to investigate 1) if deliberately deposited low-amplitude roughness surrounding a larger roughness element "cloak" that element so it appears subcritical and does not cause transition; 2) if the details of unavoidable roughness are known before flight, can carefully designed "anti-roughness" be used to introduce an opposite disturbance canceling its effect on the boundary layer; and 3) the underlying physical mechanisms that lead to specific wedge spreading angles.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Mar 23, 2016
Source ID
FA95501510345

Entities

People

  • David J. Goldstein

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • United States Air Force
  • University of Texas at Austin

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.
  • Nanofabrication and Microfabrication.
  • Theoretical Analysis.