Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “LAMINAR BOUNDARY LAYER SEPARATION”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2007

Experimental Investigation of Transition to Turbulence as Affected by Passing Wakes: Effects of High FSTI and Increased Rod Spacing

Experimental results from a study of the effects of passing wakes upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in a low-pressure turbine passage are presented. The test section geometry is designed to simulate the effects of unsteady wakes resulting from rotor-stator interaction upon laminar-to-turbulent transition in turbine blade boundary layers and separated flow regions over suction surfaces. Single-wire, thermal anemometry techniques are used to measure time-resolved and phase-averaged, wall-normal profiles of velocity, turbulence intensity and intermittency at multiple streamwise locations over the turbine airfoil suction surface. The Reynolds number based on suction surface length and stage exit velocity is 50,000. This study compares a previously documented base case flow having an approach flow turbulence intensity of 2.5 percent and a wake passing Strouhal number of 0.792 to two additional cases: one having an increased rod spacing case having a wake passing Strouhal number of 0.396, and another having an elevated approach flow turbulence intensity of 10 percent. From these data, the effects of increased rod spacing and elevated FSTI upon transition and separation processes in the near-wall flow are documented. The results show that a decreased wake passing Strouhal number results in an earlier separation with a larger separation bubble, while the elevated FSTI results in earlier separation, but with a shorter, thinner, separation bubble. The data and animations are included in an accompanying CD ROM.

Kaszeta, Richard W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Weak incident shock interactions with Mach 8 laminar boundary layers

Weak shock-wave interactions with boundary layers on a flat plate were investigated experimentally in Mach 8 variable-density tunnel for plate-length Reynolds numbers. The undisturbed boundary layers were laminar over the entire plate length. Pressure and heat-transfer distributions were obtained for wedge-generated incident shock waves that resulted in pressure rises ranging from 1.36 to 4.46 (both nonseparated and separated boundary-layer flows). The resulting heat-transfer amplifications ranged from 1.45 to 14. The distributions followed established trends for nonseparated flows, for incipient separation, and for laminar free-interaction pressure rises. The experimental results corroborated established trends for the extent of the pressure rise and for certain peak heat-transfer correlations.

Kaufman, L. G., II↗
NASA NTRS1992

Evaluation and application of the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model in two-dimensional, unsteady, compressible boundary layers with and without separation in engine inlets

There is a practical need to model high speed flows that exist in jet engine inlets. The boundary layers that form in these inlets may be turbulent or laminar and either separated or attached. Also, unsteady supersonic inlets may be subject to frequent changes in operating conditions. Some changes in the operating conditions of the inlets may include varying the inlet geometry, bleeds and bypasses, and rotating or translating the centerbody. In addition, the inlet may be either started or unstarted. Therefore, a CFD code, used to model these inlets, may have to run for several different cases. Also, since the flow conditions through an unsteady inlet may be continually fluctuating, the CFD code which models these flows may have to be run over many time steps. Therefore, it would be beneficial that the code run quickly. Many turbulence models, however, are cumbersome to implement and require a lot of computer time to run, since they add to the number of differential equations to be solved to model a flow. The Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model is a popular model. It is an algebraic, eddy viscosity model. The Baldwin-Lomax model is used in many CFD codes because it is quick and easy to implement. In this paper, we will discuss implementing the Baldwin-Lomax turbulence model for both steady and unsteady compressible flows. In addition, these flows may be either separated or attached. In order to apply this turbulence model to flows which may be subjected to these conditions, certain modifications should be made to the original Baldwin-Lomax model. We will discuss these modifications and determine whether the Baldwin-Lomax model is a viable turbulence model that produces reasonably accurate results for high speed flows that can be found in engine inlets.

Sakowski, Barbara↗
NASA NTRS1975

Interaction of strong shock wave with turbulent boundary layer

The reported investigation represents an extension of the time-dependent solution of separated laminar flows based on the complete Navier-Stokes equations reported by MacCormack (1971) and Carter (1973). The current study includes turbulence models in conjunction with the compressible flow equations. The calculations start with a uniform flow except for values imposed along the upstream and outer boundaries. The basic numerical method is discussed along with questions concerning the exponential accuracy and the resolution of the viscous sublayer in a compressed region.

Baldwin, B. S.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Boundary-layer control for drag reduction

Although the number of possible applications of boundary-layer control is large, a discussion is given only of those that have received the most attention recently at NASA Langley Research Center to improve airfoil drag characteristics. This research concerns stabilizing the laminar boundary layer through geometric shaping (natural laminar flow, NLF) and active control involving the removal of a portion of the laminar boundary layer (laminar flow control, LFC) either through discrete slots or a perforated surface. At low Reynolds numbers, a combination of shaping and forced transition has been used to achieve the desired run of laminar flow and control of laminar separation. In the design of both natural laminar flow and laminar flow control airfoils and wings, boundary layer stability codes play an important role. A discussion of some recent stability calculations using both incompressible and compressible codes is given.

Harvey, William D.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A potential-flow/boundary-layer method for calculating subsonic and transonic airfoil flow with trailing-edge separation

The development of a potential-flow/boundary-layer method for calculating subsonic and transonic turbulent flow past airfoils with trailing-edge separation is reported. A moment-of-momentum integral boundary-layer method is used which employs the law-of-the-wall/law-of-the-wake velocity profile and a two-layer eddy-viscosity model and ignores the laminar sublayer. All integrals across the boundary layer are obtained in closed form. Separation is assumed to occur when the shearing-stress velocity vanishes. A closed-form solution is derived for separated-flow regions where the shearing stress is negligible. In the potential-flow method, the exact form of the airfoil boundary condition is used, but it is applied at the chord line rather than the airfoil surface. This allows the accurate computation of flow about airfoils at large angles of attack but permits the use of body-oriented Cartesian computational grids. The governing equation for the perturbation velocity potential contains several terms in addition to the classical small-disturbance terms.

Barnwell, R. W.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Simultaneous detection of separation and transition in surface shear layers

Flush-mounted hot-film gages have proved effective in detecting boundary-layer transition and in measuring skin friction but with limited success in detecting laminar separation and reattachment. The development of multielement micro hot-film sensors, and the recent discovery of the phase reversal phenomena associated with low-frequency dynamic shear stress signals across regions of laminar separation and turbulent reattachment, have made it possible to simultaneously and unambiguously detect these surface shear layer characteristics. Experiments were conducted on different airfoils at speeds ranging from low subsonic to transonic speeds to establish the technique for incompressible and compressible flow applications. The multielement dynamic shear stress sensor technique was successfully used to detect laminar separation, turbulent reattachment, as well as, shock induced laminar and turbulent separation.

Mangalam, Siva M.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Force and pressure measurements on an airfoil oscillating through stall, part 2

Details of force, moment, and pressure distributions on a two dimensional, four foot chord, NACA 0012 airfoil, oscillating in pitch through stall, in a 7 ft. x 10 ft. low speed wind tunnel, are presented. Tests were run with the airfoil in a closed test section and also in a test section having four longitudinal slots in each sidewall set to provide minimum tunnel interference on the wing in steady flow. In unsteady flow, differences between the results for the closed and 2% open case are small. The dynamic stall process is not triggered by the bursting of a laminar separation bubble but rather by the separation of the turbulent boundary layer downstream of the bubble.

Parker, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Force and pressure measurements on an airfoil oscillating through stall

Details of force, moment, and pressure distributions on a two-dimensional, 4-ft chord, NACA 0012 airfoil, oscillating in pitch through stall, in a 7 ft x 10 ft low-speed wind tunnel are presented. Tests were run with the airfoil in a closed test section and also in a test section having four longitudinal slots in each sidewall set to provide minimum tunnel interference on the wing in steady flow. In steady flow, differences between the results for the closed and 2% open case are small. The dynamic stall process is not triggered by the bursting of a laminar separation bubble but rather by the separation of the turbulent boundary layer downstream of the bubble.

Parker, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Multi-element airfoil viscous-inviscid interactions

Subsonic viscous-inviscid interactions for multi-element airfoils are predicted by iterating between inviscid and viscous solutions until the performance coefficients converge. Inviscid flow is modelled by using distributed source-vortex singularities on configuration surface panels. Viscous effects are calculated by an existing laminar separation bubble model and a NASA-Lockheed boundary layer-wake method. Numerical formulations and example calculations are presented.

Gross, L. W.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Separation behavior of boundary layers on three-dimensional wings

An inverse boundary layer procedure for calculating separated, turbulent boundary layers at infinitely long, crabbing wing was developed. The procedure was developed for calculating three dimensional, incompressible turbulent boundary layers was expanded to adiabatic, compressible flows. Example calculations with transsonic wings were made including viscose effects. In this case an approximated calculation method described for areas of separated, turbulent boundary layers, permitting calculation of this displacement thickness. The laminar boundary layer development was calculated with inclined ellipsoids.

Stock, H. W.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Three dimensional flow field inside compressor rotor, including blade boundary layers

The flow in a turbomachinery blade passage has a predominant flow direction. The viscous diffusion in the streamwise direction is usually small and the elliptic influence is transmitted upstream through the pressure field. Starting with a guessed pressure field, it is possible to converge on the full elliptic solution by iterating between a parabolic solution and an iteration of the pressure field. The main steps of the calculation are given. The blade boundary layers which are three dimensional with laminar, transitional, turbulent, and separation zones are investigated. The kinetic energy is analyzed, and the dissipation equation is presented. Measurements were made of the three dimensional flow inside an axial flow compressor passage.

Pouagare, M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Measurements in a Transitional Boundary Layer Under Low-Pressure Turbine Airfoil Conditions

This report presents the results of an experimental study of transition from laminar to turbulent flow in boundary layers or in shear layers over separation zones on a convex-curved surface which simulates the suction surface of a low-pressure turbine airfoil. Flows with various free-stream turbulence intensity (FSTI) values (0.5%, 2.5% and 10%), and various Reynolds numbers (50,000, 100,000 200,000 and 300,000) are investigated. Reynold numbers in the present study are based on suction surface length and passage exit mean velocity. Flow separation followed by transition within the separated flow region is observed for the lower-Re cases at each of the FSTI levels. At the highest Reynolds numbers and at elevated FSn, transition of the attached boundary layer begins before separation, and the separation zone is small. Transition proceeds in the shear layer over the separation bubble. For both the transitional boundary layer and the transitional shear layer, mean velocity, turbulence intensity and intermittency (the fraction of the time the flow is turbulent) distributions are presented. The present data are compared to published distribution models for bypass transition, intermittency distribution through transition, transition start position, and transition length. A model developed for transition of separated flows is shown to adequately predict the location of the beginning of transition, for these cases, and a model developed for transitional boundary layer flows seems to adequately predict the path of intermittency through transition when the transition start and end are known. These results are useful for the design of low-pressure turbine stages which are known to operate under conditions replicated by these tests.

Simon, Terrence W.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Supersonic separated flow past a cylindrical obstacle on a flat plate

An experimental investigation of three-dimensional boundary-layer separation on a flat plate ahead of a circular cylinder at Mach 2.36 was made. Emphasis was given to the laminar flow regime and to the flow region upstream of the cylinder. The heights and diameters of the cylinders used in the study were larger than the undisturbed boundary-layer thickness at the cylinder location. Data were obtained by oil flow visualization, Schlieren observations, static pressure measurements, and laser anemometry. Oil flow visualization revealed three separation lines on the flat plate ahead of the cylinder. A postulated flowfield structure, which was suggested by this skin-friction pattern, could not be confirmed by the velocity measurements. Velocity measurements indicated an unsteady flow structure.

Ozcan, O.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Preliminary analysis of remote infrared imagery of shuttle during entry: An aerothermodynamic flight experiment

The preliminary feasibility of remote high-resolution infrared imagery of the space shuttle orbiter lower surface during entry to obtain accurate measurements of aerodynamic heat transfer to that vehicle was examined. In general, it was determined that such such images can be taken from an existing aircraft/telescope system (the C-141 AIRO) with a minimum modification or addition of systems using available technology. These images will have a spatial resolution of about 0.3 m and a temperature resolution much better than 2.5 percent. The data from these images will be at conditions and at a scale not reproducible in ground based facilities and should aid in the reduction of the prudent factors of safety required to account for phenomenological uncertainties on the thermal protection system design. Principal phenomena to be observed include laminar heating, boundary-layer transition, turbulent heating, surface catalysis, and flow separation and reattachment.

Swenson, B. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Feasibility of SPF/DB titanium sandwich for LFC wings

The feasibility of fabricating SPF/DB titanium structures of sufficient smoothness to be used for laminar flow wing surfaces was demonstrated. Two methods of fabricating panels which meet the surface smoothness criteria were demonstrated. The first consists of superplasticity forming/diffusion bonding a panel using steel dies, then machining the surface to the required flatness and finish after forming. This approach, however, was estimated to be more costly than the second approach, in which the panel is formed against ceramic platens which produce the desired surface smoothness without subsequent finishing. Four panels were fabricated, and their surface quality was evaluated. The specified criteria for waviness compared with actual measured values on the panels is shown. The acceptable surface quality as well as feasibility of the laminar flow control surface design, in which separate strips incorporating the boundary layer bleed provisions are bonded into slots on the surface, was also demonstrated.

Mcquilkin, F. T.↗
NASA NTRS1986

A direct and inverse boundary layer method for subsonic flow over delta wings

A new inverse boundary layer method is developed and applied to incompressible flows with laminar separation and reattachment. Test cases for two dimensional flows are computed and the results are compared with those of other inverse methods. One advantage of the present method is that the calculation of the inviscid velocities may be determined at each marching step without having to iterate. The inverse method was incorporated with the direct method to calculate the incompressible, conical flow over a slender delta wing at incidence. The location of the secondary separation line on the leeward surface of the wing is determined and compared with experiment for a unit aspect ratio wing at 20.5 deg incidence. The viscous flow in the separated region was calculated using prescribed skin friction coefficients.

Woodson, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Measurements in a leading-edge separation bubble due to a simulated airfoil ice accretion

The separation bubble formed on an airfoil at low Reynolds number behind a simulated leading-edge glaze ice accretion is studied experimentally. Surface pressure and split hot-film measurements as well as flow visualization studies of the bubble reattachment point are reported. The simulated ice generates an adverse pressure gradient that causes a laminar separation bubble of the long bubble type to form. The boundary layer separates at a location on the ice accretion that is independent of angle of attack and reattaches at a downstream location 5-40 percent chord behind the leading edge, depending on the angle of attack. Velocity profiles show a large region of reverse flow that extends up from the airfoil surface as much as 2.5 percent chord. After reattachment, a thick distorted turbulent boundary layer exists. The separation bubble growth and reattachment are clearly seen in the plots of boundary-layer momentum thickness vs surface distance. Local minima and maxima in the boundary-layer momentum thickness development compare well with the shear layer transition point as indicated by the surface pressures and the reattachment point as measured from surface oil flow, respectively.

Bragg, M. B.↗