Some observations of surface pressures and the near wake of a blunt trailing edge airfoil
Experiments with a truncated and untruncated airfoils of profiles NACA 640A10, were carried out in subsonic wind tunnels in a velocity range of 19m/s to 54m/s corresponding to Reynolds numbers of 200,000 to 468,000 based on the chord. Airfoil spanned the test section to achieve two dimensionality of the model. Velocity measurements, pressure measurements, and vortex shedding in the wake were measured using a hotwire and pressure transducers. The measured chordwise static pressure distribution on the smooth trailing edge airfoil along the midspan plane, agreed with the theoretical results calculated on the basis of the potential flow for that airfoil. Boundary layer profiles measured in the midspan plane, behind the maximum thickness of the airfoil show no separation of the flow. Spanwise distribution of the measured static pressure on the upper surface of the airfoil shows uniformity for both configurations with and without the boundary layer trip. This uniformity of pressure distribution and separation indicates that the flow on the airfoil was uniform and two dimensional in character.