Natural Transition of Boundary Layers—The Effects of Turbulence, Pressure Gradient, and Flow History

Abstract

Natural transition of boundary layers is investigated for a flat plate in a low-speed wind tunnel with free-stream turbulence intensities ranging from 0.3 to 5 per cent, and with pressure-gradient histories typical of turbomachinery blades without separation. Empirical relationships are proposed for the prediction of the start and end of transition, as well as the development of the boundary layer during transition. These relations are based on the recent measurements made with a hot-wire anemometer, and augmented, mainly for the start of transition, by results of previously reported research. Finally, these experimental relationships are used in conjunction with well established methods to predict the entire unseparated boundary layer. To utilize the prediction, all that is required is a knowledge of the free-stream turbulence level and the free-stream velocity distribution, which itself can be derived from potential flow theory.