EFFECTIVENESS OF VORTEX GENERATORS IN HIGHLY 3D FLOWS

摘要

An experiment was carried out in the T2 wind tunnel at the Handley Page Laboratory, aiming to explore the effectiveness of vortex generators (VGs) in controlling turbulent separation at the rear of a highly swept (60°) wing. Three sets of triangular vane vortex generators were tested with heights, hv of 5, 10 and 16mm. These VGs allowed for a parametric study involving their orientation to the local flow β, spanwise spacing, D and δ/hv. The effectiveness of the VGs was judged by their ability to suppress the boundary-layer separation with a minimal drag penalty. Flow visualization and Laser Doppler Anemometry measurements showed an optimum orientation β of 30° with a spacing ratio D/hv of 12 where VGs with height half the boundary-layer thickness were able to fully prevent the separation.