Comparison of amplitude method of roughness-induced swept-wing transition prediction with experiment

Abstract

An amplitude method of laminar-turbulent transition prediction in the boundary layer on a swept wing has been developed and tested. The method computes the amplitudes and spectra of steady cross-flow instability modes generated by surface roughness. The transition criterion is based on the crucial, threshold values of maximal or local amplitudes of these perturbations found from experiments. Statistical methods describing the intermittency in the transition zone based on this criterion are proposed.