scholarly journals Boundary Layer Transition of Strongly Concave Surfaces

Author(s):  
Stephen Riley ◽  
Mark W. Johnson ◽  
John C. Gibbings

Boundary layer transition has been studied on two blades of constant 0.5 and 1 metre radius of curvature with free stream turbulence levels of 0.7%, 2.6% and 7.2%. Zero pressure gradients were used throughout. Strong Gortler vortices developed in the boundary layer which led to growth rates of up to ten times the flat plate rate. The boundary layer profile was also highly distorted by the vortices. Transition correlation techniques for flat plates proved totally inadequate for the concave surface data, but a method of obtaining correlations for these surfaces was suggested by considering the inner critical region of the boundary layer alone.

Author(s):  
Michael P. Schultz ◽  
Ralph J. Volino

An experimental investigation has been carried out on a transitional boundary layer subject to high (initially 9%) free-stream turbulence, strong acceleration K=ν/Uw2dUw/dxas high as9×10-6, and strong concave curvature (boundary layer thickness between 2% and 5% of the wall radius of curvature). Mean and fluctuating velocity as well as turbulent shear stress are documented and compared to results from equivalent cases on a flat wall and a wall with milder concave curvature. The data show that curvature does have a significant effect, moving the transition location upstream, increasing turbulent transport, and causing skin friction to rise by as much as 40%. Conditional sampling results are presented which show that the curvature effect is present in both the turbulent and non-turbulent zones of the transitional flow.


1985 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Rued ◽  
S. Wittig

Heat transfer and boundary layer measurements were derived from flows over a cooled flat plate with various free-stream turbulence intensities (Tu = 1.6–11 percent), favorable pressure gradients (k = νe/ue2•due/dx = 0÷6•10−6) and cooling intensities (Tw/Te = 1.0–0.53). Special interest is directed towards the effects of the dominant parameters, including the influence on laminar to turbulent boundary layer transition. It is shown, that free-stream turbulence and pressure gradients are of primary importance. The increase of heat transfer due to wall cooling can be explained primarily by property variations as transition, and the influence of free-stream parameters are not affected.


Author(s):  
Paul E. Roach ◽  
David H. Brierley

The publication of the present authors’ boundary layer transition data in 1992 (now widely known as the ERCOFTAC test case T3) has led to a spate of new experimental and modelling efforts aimed at improving our understanding of this problem. This paper describes a new method of determining boundary layer transition with zero mean pressure gradient. The approach examines the development of a laminar boundary layer to the start of transition, accounting for the influences of free-stream turbulence and test surface geometry. It is presented as a “proof of concept”, requiring a significant amount of work before it can be considered as a practically applicable model for transition prediction. The method is based upon one first put forward by G.I. Taylor in the 1930’s, and accounts for the action of local, instantaneous pressure gradients on the developing laminar boundary layer. These pressure gradients are related to the intensity and length scale of turbulence in the free-stream using Taylor’s simple isotropic model. The findings demonstrate the need to account for the separate influences of free-stream turbulence intensity and length scale when considering the transition process. Although the length scale has less of an effect than the intensity, its influence is, nevertheless, significant and must not be overlooked. This fact goes a long way towards explaining the large scatter to be found in simple correlations which involve only the turbulence intensity. Intriguingly, it is demonstrated that it is the free-stream turbulence at the leading edge of the test surface which is important, not that found locally outside the boundary layer. The additional influence of leading edge geometry is also shown to play a major role in fixing the point at which transition begins. It is suggested that the leading edge geometry will distort the incident turbulent eddies, modifying the effective “free-stream” turbulence properties. Consequently, it is shown that the scale of the eddies relative to the leading edge thickness is a further important parameter, and helps bring together a large number of test cases.


Author(s):  
Ken-ichi Funazaki ◽  
Takashi Kitazawa ◽  
Kazuyuki Koizumi ◽  
Tadashi Tanuma

The objective of this study is to investigate effects of favorable pressure gradient as well as free-stream turbulence upon wake-induced boundary layer transition on a flat plate. Likewise in the previous study by Funazaki (1996), a spoked-wheel type wake generator is employed in this study. Two identical flat plates with sharp edge are used as test model. One of them is for measurement of boundary layers over the test plate by use of a single hot-wire probe, and the other is provided with thin stainless-steel foils on the surface to measure wake-affected heat transfer along the surface. Free-stream turbulence intensities are controlled with several types of turbulence grids. Pressure gradients over the test surface are adjusted by changing an inclination angle of the plate located opposite to the test model. In Part I, transition models proposed by Mayle and Dullenkopf (1990b) and Funazaki (1996a, 1996b) are compared with the experimental data obtained in this study to examine how such a model succeeds or fails in predicting the wake-induced boundary layer transition under the influences of favorable pressure gradient with a low free-stream turbulence.


Author(s):  
Heinz-Adolf Schreiber ◽  
Wolfgang Steinert ◽  
Bernhard Küsters

An experimental and analytical study has been performed on the effect of Reynolds number and free-stream turbulence on boundary layer transition location on the suction surface of a controlled diffusion airfoil (CDA). The experiments were conducted in a rectilinear cascade facility at Reynolds numbers between 0.7 and 3.0×106 and turbulence intensities from about 0.7 to 4%. An oil streak technique and liquid crystal coatings were used to visualize the boundary layer state. For small turbulence levels and all Reynolds numbers tested the accelerated front portion of the blade is laminar and transition occurs within a laminar separation bubble shortly after the maximum velocity near 35–40% of chord. For high turbulence levels (Tu > 3%) and high Reynolds numbers transition propagates upstream into the accelerated front portion of the CDA blade. For those conditions, the sensitivity to surface roughness increases considerably and at Tu = 4% bypass transition is observed near 7–10% of chord. Experimental results are compared to theoretical predictions using the transition model which is implemented in the MISES code of Youngren and Drela. Overall the results indicate that early bypass transition at high turbulence levels must alter the profile velocity distribution for compressor blades that are designed and optimized for high Reynolds numbers.


1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Volino ◽  
T. W. Simon

Measurements from heated boundary layers along a concave-curved test wall subject to high (initially 8 percent) free-stream turbulence intensity and strong (K = (ν/U∞2) dU∞/dx) as high as 9 × 10−6) acceleration are presented and discussed. Conditions for the experiments were chosen to roughly simulate those present on the downstream half of the pressure side of a gas turbine airfoil. Mean velocity and temperature profiles as well as skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are presented. The transition zone is of extended length in spite of the high free-stream turbulence level. Transitional values of skin friction coefficients and Stanton numbers drop below flat-plate, low-free-stream-turbulence, turbulent flow correlations, but remain well above laminar flow values. The mean velocity and temperature profiles exhibit clear changes in shape as the flow passes through transition. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first detailed documentation of a high-free-stream-turbulence boundary layer flow in such a strong acceleration field.


Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Watmuff

Experiments are described in which well-defined FSN (Free Stream Nonuniformity) distributions are introduced by placing fine wires upstream of the leading edge of a flat plate. Large amplitude spanwise thickness variations are present in the downstream boundary layer resulting from the interaction of the laminar wakes with the leading edge. Regions of elevated background unsteadiness appear on either side of the peak layer thickness, which share many of the characteristics of Klebanoff modes, observed at elevated Free Stream Turbulence (FST) levels. However, for the low background disturbance level of the free stream, the layer remains laminar to the end of the test section (Rx ≈ l.4×106) and there is no evidence of bursting or other phenomena associated with breakdown to turbulence. A vibrating ribbon apparatus is used to demonstrate that the deformation of the mean flow is responsible for substantial phase and amplitude distortion of Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves. Pseudo-flow visualization of hot-wire data shows that the breakdown of the distorted waves is more complex and occurs at a lower Reynolds number than the breakdown of the K-type secondary instability observed when the FSN is not present.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document