AFRL

Active Wave Control of Tollmien-Schlichting Instabilities on a Natural Laminar Airfoil

A turbulent boundary layer greatly increases the drag on a wing, negatively impacting aircraft fuel economy. Unmanned aerial drones in particular experience transition to turbulent flow from the laminar regime at common flight conditions. Transition can be delayed in a number of ways including airfoil geometry and surface actuation to suppress the Tollmien-Schlichting (TS) waves responsible.
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