Experimental research on effect of zonal heating airfoil about boundary layer flow and heat transfer

Abstract

Abstract The anti-icing of aircraft and large wind turbines, where the wall temperature is higher than the fluid temperature, can significantly alter the flow evolution characteristics of the boundary layer. Local heating strategies for the manifold state need to be designed based on the changing characteristics of the flow velocity and temperature field in order to precisely control the heat supply and reduce inefficient energy consumption. In order to obtain accurate heat transfer characteristics of the airfoil’s boundary layer flow, it is necessary to refine the measurement of the boundary layer characteristics during flow and heat transfer. In this paper, wind tunnel experiments are carried out on the NACA2412 model with full surface’s zonal electric heating. The wall surface is equipped with a built-in heater and the temperature of the wall surface is obtained through the corresponding temperature sensor. By studying layer characteristics of the four heated regions, namely the laminar flow region near leading edge, the laminar flow destabilisation region, the transition region and the fully turbulent flow region, and comparing them with the boundary layer characteristics of the unheated airfoil, the effects of the presence of heat sources in different regions on the stability of the flow field and the spatial heat transfer pattern are revealed. The results show that heating in the laminar and turbulent zones maintains the stability of the flow field to a greater extent and achieves better heat transfer strength, while heating in the unstable zone brings forward the turbulence and heating in the fully turbulent zone intensifies the flow separation at the trailing edge of the airfoil. This study can be used as a reference for the design of efficient anti-icing systems on full wing surfaces.