Validation of a laminar-turbulent transition prediction technique for a swept-wing boundary-layer flow

The laminar-turbulent transition in the boundary layer of a 45° swept wing model installed at zero attack angle in the test section of a subsonic wind-tunnel was detected with the help of an infrared camera. The camera recorded sequences of frames, the evolution of the preheated model surface temperature acquired and used for differentiating between the laminar and turbulent regions. The transition onset was evaluated at both sides of the model. Corresponding main flow computations in the virtual wind tunnel test section were performed at the same flow conditions with ANSYS Fluent. The computed main-flow velocity profiles along inviscid streamlines were used for analysis of hydrodynamic stability of the boundary layer with respect to Tollmien-Schlichting waves and stationary cross-flow vortices to obtain N-factor distributions along the model chord. A comparison of the experimental and the computed transition onsets was performed.