Visualization and Flowfield Measurements of the Vortical Flow over a Double-Delta Wing

Abstract

The vortical flow of a 65-deg flat plate delta wing with a leading edge extension(LEX) was examined through off-surface visualization, 5-hole probe and hot-film measurements. The off-surface flow visualization technique used micro water droplets generated by a home-style ultrasonic humidifier and a laser beam sheet. The angles of attack ranged from 10 to 30 degrees, and the sideslip angles ranged from 0 to -15 degrees. The Reynolds number was <TEX>$1.82{\times}10^5$</TEX> for the flow visualization, and <TEX>$1.76{\times}10^6$</TEX> for the 5-hole probe and hot-film measurements. The comparison of the visualization photos and the flow field measurement showed that the two results were in a good agreement for the relative position and the structure of the wing and LEX vortices, even though the flow Reynolds numbers of the two results were much different. The wing vortex and the LEX vortex coil each other while maintaining a comparable strength and identity at zero sideslip. Neither a looping of the wing vortex around the strake vortex, nor the lopsided coiling of the stronger strake and the weaker wing vortices was observed. At non-zero sideslip, the downward movement of the LEX vortex when going downstream was enhanced on the windward side, and the downward and inboard movement of the LEX vortex when going downstream was suppressed on the leeward side. The counterclockwise coiling of the wing and LEX vortices was decreased significantly on the leeward side.