Reduction of wind-tunnel wall interference by controlled wall flow
Corrections for wind tunnel wall interferences are applied successfully to high lift models when the model to tunnel size ratio is small. The accuracy of the corrections becomes poorer when larger models are tested. An alternate method of testing was developed in which flow through the porous walls of the tunnel was actively controlled so as to approximate free air conditions in the neighborhood of the model during the test. The amount and distribution of the controlled flow through the walls is computed using a potential flow representation of the model based on the measured lift. Theoretical analysis is presented to prove the convergence of the method to free air conditions and to substantiate the general three dimensional theory of operation when the normal flow distribution is continuous. A two dimensional tunnel was constructed to evaluate the concept. Results show that substantial reduction of wall interference may be achieved with relatively low values of porosity of actively controlled walls.