Laser vapor screen (LVS) flow visualization and pressure sensitive paint (PSP) techniques were applied in a unified approach to wind tunnel testing of slender wing and missile configurations dominated by vortex flows and shock waves at subsonic, transonic, and supersonic speeds. The off-surface cross-flow patterns using the LVS technique were combined with global PSP surface static pressure mappings to characterize the leading-edge vortices and shock waves that coexist and interact at high angles of attack (alpha). The synthesis of LVS and PSP techniques was also effective in identifying the significant effects of passive surface porosity and the presence of vertical tail surfaces on the flow topologies. An overview is given of LVS and PSP applications in selected experiments on small-scale models of generic slender wing and missile configurations in the NASA Langley Research Center (NASA LaRC) Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel (UPWT) and 8-Foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel (8-Foot TPT).
Unified Application Vapor Screen Flow Visualization and Pressure Sensitive Paint Measurement Techniques to Vortex- and Shock Wave-Dominated Flow Fields
2008
31 pages
Report
No indication
English
Fluid Mechanics , Test Facilities & Equipment , Missile Technology , Scale models , Shock waves , Transonic wind tunnels , Vapors , Vortices , Wind tunnel tests , Pressure sensitive paints , Flow visualization , Angle of attack , Delta wings , Missile configurations , Slender wings , Cross flow , Flow distribution