Previous research indicates that the problem of boundary layer transition visualization on metal models in wind tunnels (WT) which is a fundamental question in experimental aerodynamics is not solved yet. In TsAGI together with Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM) a method of shear stress sensitive liquid crystals (LC) which allows flow visualization was proposed. This method allows testing several flow conditions in one wind tunnel run and does not need covering the investigated model with any special heat-insulating coating which spoils the model geometry. This coating is easily applied on the model surface by spray or even by brush. Its’ thickness is about 40 micrometers and it does not spoil the surface quality. At first the coating obtains some definite color. Under shear stress the LC coating changes color and this change is proportional to shear stress. The whole process can be visually observed and during the tests it is recorded by camera. The findings of the research showed that it is possible to visualize boundary layer transition, flow separation, shock waves and the flow image on the whole. It is possible to predict that the proposed method of shear stress sensitive liquid crystals is a promise for future research.
Diagnostics of boundary layer transition by shear stress sensitive liquid crystals
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE METHODS OF AEROPHYSICAL RESEARCH (ICMAR 2016): Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on the Methods of Aerophysical Research ; 2016 ; Perm, Russia
AIP Conference Proceedings ; 1770 , 1
2016-10-13
7 pages
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
Shear-Stress-Sensitive Liquid Crystals for Hypersonic Boundary-Layer Transition Detection
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