Transition Delay and Relaminarization of Turbulent Flow

Abstract

In recent years, the application of boundary layer control has been investigated for low drag or high lift. The first deals with laminar flow control and turbulence manipulation whereas the second deals with separation control. Recent experiments have demonstrated that laminar flow can be obtained by contouring the surface to maintain a favorable pressure gradient over the surface. In addition, improvement in lift and stall characteristics have been demonstrated for an airfoil by local excitation at the leading edge.