Computational Evaluation and Linear Stability of a Transonic Laminar-Flow Wing Glove

Abstract

The Flight Research Laboratory at Texas A&M University has proposed conducting both natural laminar flow and passive laminar flow control flight-test experiments through NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aviation program in partnership with Dryden Flight Research Center and Langley Research Center. The flight-test program will further explore discrete roughness element technology and demonstrate its effectiveness at extending laminar flow beyond the natural transition location. Texas A&M University completed a wing-glove design, designated TAMU-06-05, that was to be installed on a Gulfstream III testbed aircraft. Detailed analysis on the wing-glove design effectiveness is given, focusing on flowfield behavior and boundary-layer stability characteristics near the glove using full-aircraft computational-fluid-dynamics calculations.= Mach number Re c = chord Reynolds number x∕c = chord length ratio