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A new wind tunnel for the study of pressure-induced separating and reattaching flows

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 January 2016

A. Mohammed-Taifour ,
Q. Schwaab ,
J. Pioton  and
J. Weiss
A. Mohammed-Taifour
Affiliation:
Laboratoire TFT, École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Q. Schwaab
Affiliation:
Laboratoire TFT, École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
J. Pioton
Affiliation:
Laboratoire TFT, École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
J. Weiss*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire TFT, École de technologie supérieure, Montréal, Québec, Canada
*
julien.weiss@etsmtl.ca
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Abstract

The design, construction, and validation of a new academic wind tunnel is described in detail. The wind tunnel is of a classical, blow-down type and generates a pressure-induced, turbulent separation bubble on a flat test surface by a combination of adverse and favorable pressure gradients. The Reynolds number, based on momentum thickness just upstream of separation, is Reθ ≃ 5,000 at a free-stream velocity of Uref = 25ms−1. The length of the separation bubble is estimated at 0°42 ± 0°02m by three different methods. Results of a numerical simulation demonstrate the absence of flow separation in the wind-tunnel contraction. This results in a turbulence level of about 0·05% in the test section. Oil-film visualisation experiments show that the flow near the wall is strongly three-dimensional in the recirculating region and that the topology of the limiting streamlines is consistent with experiments performed on configurations with fixed separation. Finally, spatial variations of the forward-flow fraction have been documented using a thermal-tuft probe and are shown to compare well with the results of the oil-film visualisation.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 119 , Issue 1211 , January 2015 , pp. 91 - 108
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2015

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