PIV measurements of flow separation over laminar airfoil at transonic speeds

The paper presents results of transonic flow field visualization over a laminar airfoil in high-speed wind tunnel. Quite recently, considerable attention has been paid to experimental investigations of an interaction between the shock and the boundary layer for aerodynamics applications. The purpose of the paper is to investigate development of the flow separation over laminar airfoil at transonic speeds. In a course of presented studies, the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method was used for instantaneous velocity measurements of flow field in the test section of N-3 Institute of Aviation transonic wind tunnel. The object of the research was a laminar airfoil inclined at various angles. The effect of the varying angle of incidence on the flow filed was investigated. The freestream Mach number was 0.7. The results of the PIV measurements were analysed in order to identify the type of the separation from the measured velocity fields. Three forms of separation for low, medium and high angle of incidence was distinguished. The results are in good agreement with theoretical models reported in the literature. The study showed that application of quantitative flow visualisation technique allowed gaining new insights on the complex phenomenon of transonic flow over airfoil. The results of the presented research can be used for better understanding of the mechanism of the flow separation process in transonic flow over airfoils and fluid structure interactions.