Subsonic wind tunnel investigations were conducted on a 60° swept, flat plate, delta wing with a leading edge vortex flap. The pressure distributions were measured over a range of angles of attack starting from zero to 40° in 5° interval and flap deflection angles from zero to 45° with 5° increments at a Reynolds number of about 2.14 x 10‘ based on the root chord. The flow visualization experiments were performed from zero degree to the stall angle, with ten different flap deflection angles at the same Reynolds number. The mean flow field was measured at angles of attack l0° and 15° with the flap deflection angles of l0° and 30° at a Reynolds number of about 1.50 x 10°. The experimental results shows that the leading edge vortex flap is an effective means to control the vortex flow over a delta wing. The optimum flap deflection angles were found where the primary vortex was confined to the leading edge vortex flap, thus producing a thrust on the flap. It was found that flap deflection could be used to restore a vortex flow from burst vortex condition. / Ph. D. / incomplete_metadata

The design of a cascade wind tunnel for testing of compressor blades at high angle of attack is described. Methods to insure uniform velocity profiles and control of inlet turbulence are discussed. The problem of maintaining two-dimensional flows at high angle of attack was addressed. A tunnel capable of testing cascades of compressor blades at angles of attack up to seventy-five degrees was constructed. Performance of the tunnel was evaluated and data were acquired for flow over double-circular-arc blades with angles of attack extending into the fully-stalled region. Comparisons were made with available data in the installed flow regime. Results showed that the tunnel had adequately uniform inlet velocities and low turbulence levels, and that two-dimensional flow was maintained over the center two-thirds of the high-aspect ratio blades. / Master of Science

M.S.

A data reduction method has been developed and tested for a high frequency angle probe. The angle probe is designed for unsteady aerodynamic measurements in transonic cryogenic wind tunnels. The probe measures time-resolved total pressure, static pressure, angle of attack, and yaw angle from readings of four pressure transducers. The unique feature of this probe, as compared to a conventional multi-hole directional probe, is that the four high frequency response silicon pressure transducers are mounted flush on the probe tip. The data reduction method is basically an interpolation routine of calibration curves. The calibration curves consist of experimentally determined non-dimensional flow coefficients. Two experiments were conducted to test the probe and the data reduction method. The first experiment tested the angle probe in a Karman vortex street shed from a cylinder. In the second experiment, the angle probe was placed in an open air jet with an exit Mach number of 0.42. Plots of the time-resolved measurements and the Fast Fourier Transform analysis were made for each test. / Master of Science

M.S.

Modern, high performance aircraft are required to be able to fly and be controlled over a wide variety of flight conditions. In order to predict the aircraft behavior and control requirements over the entire flight regime it is necessary to have a proper aerodynamic model. Flight conditions at high angles of attack lead to separated flows making the aerodynamic model more difficult to obtain. In this research wind tunnel experiments are performed on an F-5 air-craft model at high angles of attack, with small oscillations about the body oriented roll axis. In addition the free stream environment can be configured in one of three ways: l) straight uniform flow, 2) curved flow to simulated a horizontal turn, and 3) rolling flow to simulated a roll motion about the relative Velocity vector. / Ph. D.

This thesis describes the design and initial testing of a transonic turbine cascade facility. It is specifically concerned with the best way to obtain flow periodicity and repeatability through the cascade by the use of tailboards at the cascade exit. The problem of how to achieve flow periodicity and repeatability has not been completely resolved. An examination of the literature available on transonic turbine cascade testing indicates some researchers use no tailboards, some use a solid tailboard, and still others use a porous tailboard. In this thesis, the flow through the turbine cascade is tested for three different cascade exit configurations; no tailboard, a solid tailboard, and a porous tailboard. The cascade is also tested with the tailboard at different angles, to see what effect the angle of the tailboard has on the flow through the cascade. The data acquisition and flow visualization systems are discussed and some preliminary results are given. / Master of Science

Recently, the wavy leading edge airfoils, inspired by the humpback whale´s flipper, have been investigated, as flow control mechanisms, at low Reynolds numbers in order to improve aerodynamic performance in this particular flow regime. The overall aim of this work is to investigate the airfoil geometric effects on wavy leading edge phenomena in the low Reynolds number regime. Experimental investigations were carried out correlating force measurements with mini-tuft and oil visualizations in order to understand the airfoil thickness effects on wavy leading edge phenomena. Three sets of airfoil thickness were tested (NACA 0012, NACA 0020 and NACA 0030), each set consisting of smooth plus three wavy configurations (A=0.11c, ?=0.40c; A=0.03c, ?=0.40c and A=0.03c, ?=0.11c); Reynolds number was varied between 50,000 and 290,000. The results present many findings that were not possible in previous studies due the fact that these investigations were constrained to specific geometries and/or flow conditions. At higher Reynolds number, the decrease in airfoil thickness leads the airfoils to leading edge stall characteristics causing the lowest aerodynamic deterioration for the thinnest wavy airfoil as compared to smooth configuration in the pre-stall regime. In addition, the results show impressive tubercle performance in the lowest Reynolds number. For any tubercle geometry and airfoil thickness, the wavy leading edge airfoils present higher maximum lift values as compared to smooth configurations showing an unprecedented increase in performance for a full-span model tested in the literature. The flow visualizations present two flow mechanisms triggered by secondary flow: three-dimensional laminar separation bubbles and vortical structures. Regarding three-dimensional laminar bubbles, the results confirm some of the few previous experimental and numerical studies, and presents for the first time these structures as a very efficient flow control mechanism in the post-stall regime justifying the impressive increase in maximum lift in the lowest Reynolds number. Besides that, two characteristics of laminar bubbles, \"tipped-bubbles\" and \"elongated-bubbles\", are identified with different effects in the pre-stall regime. This thesis presents higher tubercle performance for thinner airfoils (NACA 0012) and/or lower Reynolds number conditions (Re=50,000) showing clearly that an optimum performance lead the \"tubercles\" to operate under conditions of leading edge flow separation conditions. Therefore, a design space for tubercles conducted to leading edge stall characteristics confirming the hypothesis of Stanway (2008) eight years before. / Recentemente, aerofólios com bordo de ataque ondulados, inspirados na nadadeira da baleia jubarte, tem sido investigados como mecanismo de controle de escoamento para baixo número de Reynolds com a finalidade de se aumentar o desempenho aerodinâmico neste específico regime de escoamento. O objetivo geral deste trabalho é investigar os efeitos geométricos do aerofólio nos fenômenos do bordo de ataque ondulado na condição de baixo número de Reynolds. Investigações experimentais foram realizadas correlacionando medições de forças com visualizações de lã e óleo a fim de compreender os efeitos da espessura do aerofólio sobre os fenômenos de bordo de ataque ondulado. Três conjuntos de espessura de aerofólios foram testados (NACA 0012, NACA 0020 e NACA 0030) na faixa de número de Reynolds entre 50,000 e 290,000, onde cada conjunto tem um aerofólio liso e três ondulados (A = 0.11c, ? = 0.40c; A = 0.03c, ? = 0.40c e A = 0.03c, 0.11c ? =0.11c). O dados experimentais mostram importantes resultados que não foram possíveis em estudos anteriores devido às investigações serem restritas à geometria ou/e condição de escoamento específicas. O resultados de medida de força mostram que a diminuição da espessura do aerofólio conduz às características de separação de escoamento de bordo de ataque que causam menor deterioração aerodinâmica nos aerofólios ondulados finos quando comparados aos lisos no regime de pré-stall. Além disso, os resultados mostram um desempenho destacado do bordo de ataque ondulado para condição de menor número de Reynolds. Em quaisquer espessuras de aerofólio, os bordos ondulados apresentam valores de sustentação máxima maiores quando comparado aos aerofólios lisos mostrando assim resultado inédito na literatura para modelos ondulados bi-dimensionais. As visualizações de óleo evidenciaram dois mecanismos de controle de escoamento desencadeadas pelo escoamento secundário: bolhas de separação laminar tridimensionais e estruturas vorticais. Os resultados confirmam alguns poucos estudos experimentais e numéricos anteriores relacionadas com bolhas tridimensionais, e apresenta pela primeira vez estas estruturas como um mecanismo muito eficiente de controle de escoamento em regime de pós-stall justificando o aumento de máxima sustentação para o menor número de Reynolds. Adicionalmente, foram identificadas duas estruturas de bolhas tridimensionais nomeados aqui como \"bolhas com pontas\" e \"bolhas alongadas\" que causam distintos efeitos no regime de pré-stall. Esta tese apresenta como resultado maior desempenho para aerofólios ondulados com menor espessura (NACA 0012) e/ou para condições de menor número de Reynolds (Re=50,000)mostrando claramente que estas características levam as ondulações a operarem em condições de stall de bordo de ataque assim tendo um desempenho superior. Portanto, um espaço de projeto para tubérculos conduz às características de stall de bordo de ataque confirmando a suposição de Stanway (2008) oitos anos antes.

Recently, the wavy leading edge airfoils, inspired by the humpback whale´s flipper, have been investigated, as flow control mechanisms, at low Reynolds numbers in order to improve aerodynamic performance in this particular flow regime. The overall aim of this work is to investigate the airfoil geometric effects on wavy leading edge phenomena in the low Reynolds number regime. Experimental investigations were carried out correlating force measurements with mini-tuft and oil visualizations in order to understand the airfoil thickness effects on wavy leading edge phenomena. Three sets of airfoil thickness were tested (NACA 0012, NACA 0020 and NACA 0030), each set consisting of smooth plus three wavy configurations (A=0.11c, ?=0.40c; A=0.03c, ?=0.40c and A=0.03c, ?=0.11c); Reynolds number was varied between 50,000 and 290,000. The results present many findings that were not possible in previous studies due the fact that these investigations were constrained to specific geometries and/or flow conditions. At higher Reynolds number, the decrease in airfoil thickness leads the airfoils to leading edge stall characteristics causing the lowest aerodynamic deterioration for the thinnest wavy airfoil as compared to smooth configuration in the pre-stall regime. In addition, the results show impressive tubercle performance in the lowest Reynolds number. For any tubercle geometry and airfoil thickness, the wavy leading edge airfoils present higher maximum lift values as compared to smooth configurations showing an unprecedented increase in performance for a full-span model tested in the literature. The flow visualizations present two flow mechanisms triggered by secondary flow: three-dimensional laminar separation bubbles and vortical structures. Regarding three-dimensional laminar bubbles, the results confirm some of the few previous experimental and numerical studies, and presents for the first time these structures as a very efficient flow control mechanism in the post-stall regime justifying the impressive increase in maximum lift in the lowest Reynolds number. Besides that, two characteristics of laminar bubbles, \"tipped-bubbles\" and \"elongated-bubbles\", are identified with different effects in the pre-stall regime. This thesis presents higher tubercle performance for thinner airfoils (NACA 0012) and/or lower Reynolds number conditions (Re=50,000) showing clearly that an optimum performance lead the \"tubercles\" to operate under conditions of leading edge flow separation conditions. Therefore, a design space for tubercles conducted to leading edge stall characteristics confirming the hypothesis of Stanway (2008) eight years before. / Recentemente, aerofólios com bordo de ataque ondulados, inspirados na nadadeira da baleia jubarte, tem sido investigados como mecanismo de controle de escoamento para baixo número de Reynolds com a finalidade de se aumentar o desempenho aerodinâmico neste específico regime de escoamento. O objetivo geral deste trabalho é investigar os efeitos geométricos do aerofólio nos fenômenos do bordo de ataque ondulado na condição de baixo número de Reynolds. Investigações experimentais foram realizadas correlacionando medições de forças com visualizações de lã e óleo a fim de compreender os efeitos da espessura do aerofólio sobre os fenômenos de bordo de ataque ondulado. Três conjuntos de espessura de aerofólios foram testados (NACA 0012, NACA 0020 e NACA 0030) na faixa de número de Reynolds entre 50,000 e 290,000, onde cada conjunto tem um aerofólio liso e três ondulados (A = 0.11c, ? = 0.40c; A = 0.03c, ? = 0.40c e A = 0.03c, 0.11c ? =0.11c). O dados experimentais mostram importantes resultados que não foram possíveis em estudos anteriores devido às investigações serem restritas à geometria ou/e condição de escoamento específicas. O resultados de medida de força mostram que a diminuição da espessura do aerofólio conduz às características de separação de escoamento de bordo de ataque que causam menor deterioração aerodinâmica nos aerofólios ondulados finos quando comparados aos lisos no regime de pré-stall. Além disso, os resultados mostram um desempenho destacado do bordo de ataque ondulado para condição de menor número de Reynolds. Em quaisquer espessuras de aerofólio, os bordos ondulados apresentam valores de sustentação máxima maiores quando comparado aos aerofólios lisos mostrando assim resultado inédito na literatura para modelos ondulados bi-dimensionais. As visualizações de óleo evidenciaram dois mecanismos de controle de escoamento desencadeadas pelo escoamento secundário: bolhas de separação laminar tridimensionais e estruturas vorticais. Os resultados confirmam alguns poucos estudos experimentais e numéricos anteriores relacionadas com bolhas tridimensionais, e apresenta pela primeira vez estas estruturas como um mecanismo muito eficiente de controle de escoamento em regime de pós-stall justificando o aumento de máxima sustentação para o menor número de Reynolds. Adicionalmente, foram identificadas duas estruturas de bolhas tridimensionais nomeados aqui como \"bolhas com pontas\" e \"bolhas alongadas\" que causam distintos efeitos no regime de pré-stall. Esta tese apresenta como resultado maior desempenho para aerofólios ondulados com menor espessura (NACA 0012) e/ou para condições de menor número de Reynolds (Re=50,000)mostrando claramente que estas características levam as ondulações a operarem em condições de stall de bordo de ataque assim tendo um desempenho superior. Portanto, um espaço de projeto para tubérculos conduz às características de stall de bordo de ataque confirmando a suposição de Stanway (2008) oitos anos antes.

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