scholarly journals On the Effects of an Installed Propeller Slipstream on Wing Aerodynamic Characteristics

10.14311/562 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
F. M. Catalano

This work presents an experimental study of the effect of an installed propeller slipstream on a wing boundary layer. The main objective was to analyse through wind tunnel experiments the effect of the propeller slipstream on the wing boundary layer characteristics such as: laminar flow extension and transition, laminar separation bubbles and reattachment and turbulent separation. Two propeller/wing configurations were studied: pusher and tractor. Experimental work was performed using two different models: a two-dimensional wing with a central cylindrical nacelle for the tractor configuration, and a simple two-dimensional wing with a downstream propeller for the pusher tests. The relative position between propeller and wing could be changed in the pusher model, and a total of 7 positions were analysed. For the tractor tests the relative propeller/wing was fixed, but three different propellers: two, three and four bladed were tested. Measurements included pressure distribution, hot wire anemometry and boundary layer characteristics by flow visualisation. The results showed that the pusher propeller inflow affects the wing characteristics by changing the lift, drag, and also delays the boundary layer transition and separation. These effects are highly dependent on the relative position of the wing/propeller. On the other hand, the tractor propeller slipstream induces transition and its effect is dependent on the number of blades.

Author(s):  
Richard D. Sandberg ◽  
Richard Pichler ◽  
Liwei Chen ◽  
Roderick Johnstone ◽  
Vittorio Michelassi

Modern low pressure turbines (LPT) feature high pressure ratios and moderate Mach and Reynolds numbers, increasing the possibility of laminar boundary-layer separation on the blades. Upstream disturbances including background turbulence and incoming wakes have a profound effect on the behavior of separation bubbles and the type/location of laminar-turbulent transition and therefore need to be considered in LPT design. URANS are often found inadequate to resolve the complex wake dynamics and impact of these environmental parameters on the boundary layers and may not drive the design to the best aerodynamic efficiency. LES can partly improve the accuracy, but has difficulties in predicting boundary layer transition and capturing the delay of laminar separation with varying inlet turbulence levels. Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) is able to overcome these limitations but has to date been considered too computationally expensive. Here a novel compressible DNS code is presented and validated, promising to make DNS practical for LPT studies. Also, the sensitivity of wake loss coefficient with respect to freestream turbulence levels below 1% is discussed.


1989 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
pp. 403-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Laurien ◽  
L. Kleiser

The laminar-turbulent transition process in a parallel boundary-layer with Blasius profile is simulated by numerical integration of the three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using a spectral method. The model of spatially periodic disturbances developing in time is used. Both the classical Klebanoff-type and the subharmonic type of transition are simulated. Maps of the three-dimensional velocity and vorticity fields and visualizations by integrated fluid markers are obtained. The numerical results are compared with experimental measurements and flow visualizations by other authors. Good qualitative and quantitative agreement is found at corresponding stages of development up to the one-spike stage. After the appearance of two-dimensional Tollmien-Schlichting waves of sufficiently large amplitude an increasing three-dimensionality is observed. In particular, a peak-valley structure of the velocity fluctuations, mean longitudinal vortices and sharp spike-like instantaneous velocity signals are formed. The flow field is dominated by a three-dimensional horseshoe vortex system connected with free high-shear layers. Visualizations by time-lines show the formation of A-structures. Our numerical results connect various observations obtained with different experimental techniques. The initial three-dimensional steps of the transition process are consistent with the linear theory of secondary instability. In the later stages nonlinear interactions of the disturbance modes and the production of higher harmonics are essential.We also study the control of transition by local two-dimensional suction and blowing at the wall. It is shown that transition can be delayed or accelerated by superposing disturbances which are out of phase or in phase with oncoming Tollmien-Schlichting instability waves, respectively. Control is only effective if applied at an early, two-dimensional stage of transition. Mean longitudinal vortices remain even after successful control of the fluctuations.


1990 ◽  
Vol 34 (01) ◽  
pp. 38-47
Author(s):  
R. Latorre ◽  
R. Baubeau

One of the difficulties in hydrofoil model tests is the relatively low Reynolds number of the test piece and the presence of the test section walls. This paper presents the results of systematic calculations of the potential flow field of NA 4412 and NACA 16-012 hydrofoil in a test section with wall-to-chord ratios h/c -1.0. The corresponding boundary-layer calculations using the CERT calculation scheme are presented to show the influence of the nearby walls on shifting the location of the boundary-layer laminar-turbulent separation as well as turbulent separation. By introducing an effective angle of attack, it is possible to obtain close agreement in the calculated and measured suction side pressure distortion as well as the locations of the boundary-layer separation and transition.


Author(s):  
Stefan Becker ◽  
Donald M. McEligot ◽  
Edmond Walsh ◽  
Eckart Laurien

New results are deduced to assess the validity of proposed transition indicators when applied to situations other than boundary layers on smooth surfaces. The geometry employed utilizes a two-dimensional square rib to disrupt the boundary layer flow. The objective is to determine whether some available criteria are consistent with the present measurements of laminar recovery and transition for the flow downstream of this rib. For the present data — the proposed values of thresholds for transition in existing literature that are based on the freestream turbulence level at the leading edge are not reached in the recovering laminar run but they are not exceeded in the transitioning run either. Of the pointwise proposals examined, values of the suggested quantity were consistent for three of the criteria; that is, they were less than the threshold in laminar recovery and greater than it in the transitioning case.


Author(s):  
Varun Chitta ◽  
Tausif Jamal ◽  
D. Keith Walters

A numerical analysis is performed to study the pre-stall and post-stall aerodynamic characteristics over a group of six airfoils using commercially available transition-sensitive and fully turbulent eddy-viscosity models. The study is focused on a range of Reynolds numbers from 6 × 104 to 2 × 106, wherein the flow around the airfoil is characterized by complex phenomena such as boundary layer transition, flow separation and reattachment, and formation of laminar separation bubbles on either the suction, pressure or both surfaces of airfoil. The predictive capability of the transition-sensitive k-kL-ω model versus the fully turbulent SST k-ω model is investigated for all airfoils. The transition-sensitive k-kL-ω model used in this study is capable of predicting both attached and separated turbulent flows over the surface of an airfoil without the need for an external linear stability solver to predict transition. The comparison between experimental data and results obtained from the numerical simulations is presented, which shows that the boundary layer transition and laminar separation bubbles that appear on the suction and pressure surfaces of the airfoil can be captured accurately by the use of a transition-sensitive model. The fully turbulent SST k-ω model predicts a turbulent boundary layer on both surfaces of the airfoil for all angles of attack and fails to predict boundary layer transition or separation bubbles. Discrepancies are observed in the predictions of airfoil stall by both the models. Reasons for the discrepancies between computational and experimental results, and also possible improvements in eddy-viscosity models, are discussed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Bons

The effects of surface roughness on gas turbine performance are reviewed based on publications in the open literature over the past 60 years. Empirical roughness correlations routinely employed for drag and heat transfer estimates are summarized and found wanting. No single correlation appears to capture all of the relevant physics for both engineered and service-related (e.g., wear or environmentally induced) roughness. Roughness influences engine performance by causing earlier boundary layer transition, increased boundary layer momentum loss (i.e., thickness), and/or flow separation. Roughness effects in the compressor and turbine are dependent on Reynolds number, roughness size, and to a lesser extent Mach number. At low Re, roughness can eliminate laminar separation bubbles (thus reducing loss) while at high Re (when the boundary layer is already turbulent), roughness can thicken the boundary layer to the point of separation (thus increasing loss). In the turbine, roughness has the added effect of augmenting convective heat transfer. While this is desirable in an internal turbine coolant channel, it is clearly undesirable on the external turbine surface. Recent advances in roughness modeling for computational fluid dynamics are also reviewed. The conclusion remains that considerable research is yet necessary to fully understand the role of roughness in gas turbines.


Author(s):  
W. J. Solomon

Multiple-element surface hot-film instrumentation has been used to investigate boundary layer development in the 2 stage Low Speed Research Turbine (LSRT). Measurements from instrumentation located along the suction surface of the second stage nozzle at mid-span are presented. These results contrast the unsteady, wake-induced boundary layer transition behaviour for various turbine configurations. The boundary layer development on two new turbine blading configurations with identical design vector diagrams but substantially different loading levels are compared with a previously published result. For the conventional loading (Zweifel coefficient) designs, the boundary layer transition occurred without laminar separation. At reduced solidity, wake-induced transition started upstream of a laminar separation line and an intermittent separation bubble developed between the wake-influenced areas. A turbulence grid was installed upstream of the LSRT turbine inlet to increase the turbulence level from about 1% for clean-inlet to about 5% with the grid. The effect of turbulence on the transition onset location was smaller for the reduced solidity design than the baseline. At the high turbulence level, the amplitude of the streamwise fluctuation of the wake-induced transition onset point was reduced considerably. By clocking the first stage nozzle row relative to the second, the alignment of the wake-street from the first stage nozzle with the suction surface of the second stage nozzle was varied. At particular wake clocking alignments, the periodicity of wake induced transition was almost completely eliminated.


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