Questions tagged [boundary-layer]

Use for boundary layer related topics, including laminar and turbulent flows

Filter by
Sorted by
Tagged with
1 vote
0 answers
67 views

Effect of leading edge contamination wing performance

When a wing accumulates irregularities such as insects or dirt on the leading edge, its performance decreases. There are two main effects of this which are explained in https://aviation.stackexchange....
  • 131
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

Streamwise Pressure Gradient on Curved Walls

Could someone help me to understand how can a wall generate differents streamwise pressure gradients just by its curvature? I can understand how it works in cross-flow (perpendicular to the streamline)...
  • 1
0 votes
0 answers
49 views

Where can I find a list of higher lift laminar airfoils?

Does anyone have a list of laminar-flow airfoils (so I can compare them) with a Cl at 0°AoA of preferably at least 0.4 ?
1 vote
1 answer
48 views

Is it expected to see transition from laminar to turbulent BL at low Reynolds numbers?

I have used XFOIL to do the following analysis: NACA0018 airfoil. Reynolds number $2\times 10^4$ (low Reynolds number). Critical Amplification factor, $N_\mathrm{crit} = 3.54$ (corresponding to a ...
0 votes
2 answers
229 views

Temperature profile for a boundary layer

So I was reading the textbook today, and I see this picture for the temperature profile through the boundary layer. And I was confused on why the shape looks like this? Should it not look more like ...
1 vote
2 answers
171 views

Is flow attached in the center of delta wing?

Is flow attached in center of delta wing or only on the edge where two vortices operate? Any video of delta wing vs AoA with smoke?
  • 1,563
1 vote
1 answer
140 views

Can vane delay flow separation? [closed]

In general is a slat better than a vortex generator to delay flow separation, for high AoA or extremely curvature wing/objects? Does this "roof vane spoiler" works same as slat at wing, ...
  • 1,563
0 votes
1 answer
144 views

What is max angle of surface without stall?

AoA is by defintion angle between choord line and airflow, here is 25°. But max effective AoA here is 60°, so flow will separate for sure here.. What is max lets call it "effective AoA" that ...
  • 1,563
1 vote
1 answer
122 views

Examples for the benefits and importance of having a Boundary Layer

I understand what a boundary layer is and how it is formed. Mostly these boundary layers are related to increasing skin friction drag of the body. Please could you give some examples that show the ...
  • 477
3 votes
1 answer
296 views

How can a small airflow that passes through a slots redirect all the outer flow?

If this is normal wing without slots behind wing will be huge wake; airflow will separate, which is very easy to predict. Why would the outer flow follow the wing's couture; how can a small airflow ...
  • 1,563
1 vote
3 answers
528 views

How does the turbulent boundary layer thickness affect separation?

I read that for a turbulent boundary layer, a thicker (turbulent) boundary layer separates earlier than a thinner (turbulent) boundary layer? Why is that? Or is it the other way around?
  • 477
0 votes
2 answers
269 views

Does flow separation starts earlier at higher airflow speeds?

For same AoA,will flow separation starts earlier (point of separation more upstream) at higher airflow speeds (=higher air inertia) compare to lower airflow speeds? High speed airflow has more air ...
user avatar
14 votes
3 answers
3k views

What is the difference between flow separation and turbulent flow?

For air flowing over a wing, both flow separation and turbulent flow involve disturbed flow next to the surface and smooth flow further away. At what point does one say "oh, this flow has changed ...
  • 6,872
2 votes
1 answer
6k views

What causes the adverse pressure gradient that leads to flow separation?

When reading about flow separation I generally see a diagram like this: imp source: Wikimedia commons This shows that the boundary layer slows as it passes over the wing, eventually creating an ...
  • 28.1k
6 votes
3 answers
14k views

What is the effect of flow separation on lift, pressure distribution and drag?

Consider an airfoil (a wing) in an airflow. When angle of attack increases, at some point the flow start to separate from trailing edge. By increasing the angle of attack more, this separation area ...
8 votes
2 answers
583 views

How much noise does flow separation cause?

I recently found the following image showing the different sources of noise in vehicles. I notice that Aerodynamics is actually quite a big part of vehicle noise, as shown below by the blue line: ...
  • 6,271