The Application of Different Tripping Techniques to Determine the Characteristics of the Turbulent Boundary Layer Over a Flat Plate

Abstract

In the present study, the optimal two-dimensional (2D) tripping technique for inducing a naturally fully developed turbulent boundary layer in wind tunnels has been investigated. Various tripping techniques were tested, including wires of different diameters and changes in roughness. Experimental measurements were taken on a flat plate in a wind tunnel at a number of locations along the flat plate and at a variety of flow speeds using hot-wire anemometry to measure the boundary layer resulting from each tripping method. The results have demonstrated that to produce a natural turbulent boundary layer using a 2D protuberance, the height of the trip must be less than the undisturbed boundary layer thickness. Using such a trip was shown to reduce the development length of the turbulent boundary layer by approximately 50%. This was shown to hold true for all Reynolds numbers investigated (Rex=1.2×105−1.5×106). The present study provides an insight into the effect of the investigated trip techniques on the induced transition of a laminar boundary layer into turbulence.