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Natural Laminar Flow and Laminar Flow Control pp 23–71Cite as

Laminar Flow Flight Experiments — A Review

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Part of the book series: ICASE/NASA LaRC Series ((ICASE/NASA))

Abstract

On December 17, 1937, B. Melvill Jones presented the first Wright Brothers’ lecture at Columbia University in New York (Ref. 1). His lecture, which was entitled “Flight Experiments on the Boundary Layer,” dealt specifically with the first British flight observations of transition of the boundary layer from laminar to turbulent flow. These data, Jones concluded, showed that it is possible to retain a laminar layer over at least one-third of the whole wing surface even when the chord Reynolds number is as high as 8 millions. In the 50 years since this presentation, much flight research has been performed to explore the potential of laminar flow control for drag reduction. Both passive control and active control by suction (designated as natural laminar flow and laminar flow control, respectively) have been researched and impressive results achieved. The successes of the early natural laminar flow (NLF) flight testing were remarkable, with the achievement of an extent of laminar flow and transition Reynolds numbers which were not to be exceeded in flight for over 40 years. Nevertheless, mid-century manufacturing capabilities were such that insufficiently smooth or wave-free wing surfaces led to failure of attempts to transfer this technology to practice. The experience with laminar. flow control (LFC) nearly paralleled that of NLF.

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Abbreviations

TACT:

Transonic aircraft technology

NACA:

National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics

NPL:

National Physics Laboratory

LFC:

Laminar flow control

mac:

Mean aerodynamic chord

LTPT:

Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel

Max:

Maximum

PW:

Pratt and Whitney

NLF:

Natural laminar flow

LE, TE:

Leading edge, trailing edge

OASPL:

Overall sound pressure level

rpm:

Revolutions per minute

dB:

Decibel

N-OASPL:

Normalized overall sound pressure level

Hz.:

Hertz

HLFC:

Hybrid laminar flow control

Alt.:

Altitude

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Langley Research Center, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Hampton, VA, 23665, USA

    R. D. Wagner, D. V. Maddalon & D. W. Bartlett

  2. Analytical Services and Materials, Inc., Hampton, VA, 23666, USA

    A. L. Braslow

Authors
  1. R. D. Wagner
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  2. D. V. Maddalon
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  3. D. W. Bartlett
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  4. F. S. Collier Jr.
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  5. A. L. Braslow
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Space Systems Division, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, 23665, USA

    R. W. Barnwell

  2. ICASE, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, 23665, USA

    M. Y. Hussaini

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© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Wagner, R.D., Maddalon, D.V., Bartlett, D.W., Collier, F.S., Braslow, A.L. (1992). Laminar Flow Flight Experiments — A Review. In: Barnwell, R.W., Hussaini, M.Y. (eds) Natural Laminar Flow and Laminar Flow Control. ICASE/NASA LaRC Series. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2872-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2872-1_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7703-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2872-1

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