Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T05:42:42.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Surface Flow Patterns as Visualised by Dust Deposits on the Blades of a Fan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

E. T. Hignett  and
M. M. Gibson
E. T. Hignett
Affiliation:
Department of Fluid Mechanics, University of Liverpool
M. M. Gibson
Affiliation:
Department of Fluid Mechanics, University of Liverpool
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Investigations by one of the authors in connection with the design of a fan for a blower type of wind tunnel showed that regular and repeatable dust patterns occurred on the blades of a one-quarter scale model fan of 18 inches diameter. Dust was deposited on the fan blades along the leading-edge and on the suction surface over an area thought to be the turbulent region of the boundary layer. The introduction of isolated protuberances on the dust free area of a blade gave rise to turbulence wedges in which dust was also deposited and this was interpreted as confirmation of the coincidence of the dust deposits with regions of turbulent boundary-layer flow. These deposits showed the existence of a considerable extent of laminar flow on the suction surface of each blade close to the root, a region where high lift coefficients would be expected with associated adverse pressure gradients. Two-dimensional wind tunnel experiments were made to confirm the interpretation of the observed dust patterns by comparison with the smoke filament and volatile liquid methods of flow visualisation and these are reported in Reference 2.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 67 , Issue 633 , September 1963 , pp. 589 - 594
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1963

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Gibson, M. M. The Design of a Wind Tunnel for Boundary-Layer Research. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Fluid Mechanics, University of Liverpool, 1960.Google Scholar
2.Hignett, E. T. The Use of Dust Deposition as a Means of Flow Visualisation. A.R.C. 23 580-F.M. 3166, 1962. C.P. 631, 1963.Google Scholar
3.Banks, W. H. and Gadd, G. E. A Preliminary Report on Boundary-Layers on Screw Propellers and Simpler Rotating Bodies. National Physical Laboratory, Ship Division Report SH.R27/62, 1962.Google Scholar
4.Berry, L. W. Propeller Boundary-Layer Flow and Scale Effect. National Physical Laboratory, Ship Division Report SH.R12/59, 1959.Google Scholar
5.Schlichting, H.Some Developments in Boundary-Layer Research in the Past Thirty Years. The Third Lanchester Memorial Lecture. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 64, No. 590, 1960.Google Scholar
6.Gibbings, J. C. On Boundary-Layer Transition Wires. A.R.C, C.P. 462, 1958.Google Scholar
7.Gibbings, J. C. Private Communication. Department of Fluid Mechanics, University of Liverpool.Google Scholar
8.McCullough, G. B. and Gault, D. E. Examples of Three Representative Types of Aerofoil Section Stall at Low Speeds. N.A.C.A. T.N. 2502, 1951.Google Scholar
9.Shimoyama, Y.Experiments on Rows of Aerofoils for Retarded Flow. Memoirs of the Faculty of Engineering, Kyushu Imperial University, Fukuoka, Japan, Vol. 8, No. 4, 1938.Google Scholar
10.Fogarty, L. E.The Laminar Boundary-Layer on a Rotating Blade. Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Vol. 18, No. 4, 1951.Google Scholar
11.Gillespie, T.Electric Charge Effects in Aerosol Particle Collision Phenomena “Aerodynamic Capture of Particles.“ International Journal of Air Pollution, Vol. 3, Nos. 1-3, 1960.Google Scholar
12.Pereles, E. G. The Theory of Dust Deposition from a Turbulent Airstream by Several Mechanisms. Safety in Mines Research Establishment, Research Report No. 144, 1958.Google Scholar
13.Owen, P. R.Dust Deposition from a Turbulent Airstream. “Aerodynamic Capture of Particles.” International Journal of Air Pollution, Vol. 3, Nos. 1-3, 1960.Google Scholar
14.Coleman, W. S.The Characteristics of Roughness from Insects as Observed for Two Dimensional Incompressible Flow Past Aerofoils. Journal of the Aerospace Sciences, Vol. 26, No. 5, 1959.Google Scholar
15.Lowe, H. J. and Lucas, D. H. The Physics of Electrostatic Precipitation. “Static Electrification.” British Journal of Applied Physics, Supplement No. 2, 1953.Google Scholar