28th Congress of the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences, 23 - 28 September 2012, Brisbane, Australia
Paper ICAS 2012-3.3.2

THE INFLUENCE OF TURBULENCE INTENSITY ON THE FLOW STRUCTURE OVER A THIN AIRFOIL AT LOW REYNOLDS NUMBERS

S. Ravi, S. Watkins*, J. Watmuff*, P. Petersen*, M. Marino*
Univ. of Tuebingen, Germany; *RMIT Univ., Australia

Keywords: turbulence, thin airfoil, low reynolds numbers

Transient pressures occurring over a thin airfoil subjected to elevated turbulence levels were measured and analyzed. At high alpha the shear layer separated from the leading edge resulting in the formation of large Leading Edge Vortices. The rate of LEV formation was dependent on alpha but independent of turbulence conditions.

view full paper