The Effects of Splitter Plates on Turbulent Boundary Layer Developing on a Flat Plate near the Trailing Edge

Abstract

An experimental investigation has been made for a turbulent boundary layer near the trailing edge on a long flat plate. The flow was controlled by an additional splitter plate fitted to the trailing edge along the wake center line. The length of the splitter plate, l, was varied from a half, to five times the trailing edge thickness, h. Measurements of base pressure behind the trailing edge and of mean velocity and pressure distribution in the turbulent boundary layer on the flat plate were made under the freestream zero-pressure gradient. The absolute value of base pressure coefficient of the long flat plate was considerably smaller than that of the short flat plate (bluff body) without splitter plate (l/h=0). A significant increase in the normalized base pressure coefficient (about 50% as same as short one) was achieved with the splitter plate (l/h≥1) fitted to the long flat plate. Within an inner layer in the turbulent boundary layer near the trailing edge, mean velocity increased than that in the upstream position, especially in the case without splitter plate. With splitter plate, however, the base pressure rise made mean velocity distribution come closer to that of fully developed turbulent boundary layer. In the case of l/h≥1, the affected range of acceleration decreased from 10 h upstream of the trailing edge without splitter plate to 5 h upstream.