Optical and Hot-Film Measurements of the Boundary Layer Transition on a Naca Airfoil

This study explores the possibilities of identifying position of a boundary layer transition using hot film measurements complemented by classical optical methods i.e. interferometry and schlieren method. The subject of the measurement is a NACA 0010-64 airfoil with varying leading edge surface quality corresponding to smooth surface and rough surface with Ra ~ 50 and Ra ~ 100. Measurements are performed at several subsonic regimes and a transonic regime. Despite several shortcomings of the experimental setup, the method proved to be useful in providing information on the boundary layer transition. Measurements show that in the case of smooth leading edge, the onset of the boundary layer transition shifts upstream with increasing inlet Mach number and the major portion of the boundary layer is transitional. This is in accordance with other published results on the boundary layer transition on this kind of airfoils [1]. In all cases with the rough leading edge, the complete transition takes place on the rough portion of the surface already.