Optical Interferometry In Fluid Dynamics Research

Abstract

Optical interferometry techniques have been applied to the investiga-tion of transonic airfoil flow fields in large-scale wind tunnels. Holographic interferometry techniques were used in the study of two-dimensional sym-metric NACA 64A010 and Douglas Aircraft Company DSMA671 supercritical airfoil performance in the NASA Ames 2 ft X2 ft transonic wind tunnel. Quan-titative data obtained from the interferograms were compared to the surface pressure data. The excellent agreement obtained verified the accuracy of the flow visualization and demonstrated the potential for acquiring quantitative scalar results. Measurements of the inviscid flow speed and the boundary layer and wake velocity profiles were extracted from the interferograms and com-pared to laser Doppler velocimeter measurements. These results were also in good agreement. A method for acquiring real-time interferometric data in large-scale facilities was developed. This method, based on the point diffraction interferometer, was successfully tested in the Ames 2 ft X2 ft transonic wind tunnel. The holographic and real-time interferometry methods were applied to the investigations of circulation control airfoils utilizing the Coanda effect. These results revealed the details of the jet interaction with the trailing edge boundary layer and the other parameters affecting the lift augmentation.