Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the unsteadiness of the oncoming flow assumes an important role in the laminar-turbulent transition process of the airfoil boundary layer. It is shown that all these processes interact with each other. This enables a complete examination of the time-varying boundary conditions, the inviscid flow effects and the boundary-layer response to the turbulent forcing. New insight into the weakly nonlinear transition stage in a low disturbance environment is presented.ĭue to the random nature of atmospheric turbulence, characteristic results under moderately turbulent conditions are presented as case studies. Differences of the transition behavior between the upper and the lower side of the airfoil are demonstrated. To develop a comprehensive understanding for flight through turbulence, boundary-layer transition is investigated in detail under calm conditions. Simultaneous measurements of characteristic airfoil quantities enable important correlations with the oncoming flow disturbances. In this study the flow behavior of a natural laminar flow wing section is investigated in gliding flight experiments under calm and light to moderately turbulent conditions.Ī comprehensive measurement platform is integrated into a motorized glider to obtain insights into the flow processes acting on a laminar wing glove in cruise flight.

For natural laminar flow airfoils such conditions are potentially detrimental since their goal of maximizing laminar flow may be counteracted by increased disturbance levels. It creates oncoming flow disturbances for aircraft passing through turbulent zones. Edward B.Ītmospheric turbulence is encountered frequently in flight. Natural Laminar Flow Airfoil Behavior in Cruise Flight through Atmospheric Turbulence Copyright Information: CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 Generic - Creative Commons, Attribution, NonCommercial, NoDerivs.

Laminar flow airfoil