Response of a laminar separation bubble to an impinging wake

Laminar separation and transition phenomena were investigated experimentally in the wake-disturbed flow over a 2.4 m long flat plate. A controlled diffusion pressure distribution, representative of that on a compressor blade, was imposed but with sufficiently strong loading to cause laminar separation. Boundary layer velocity traverses were performed at several longitudinal stations. Wakes were generated upstream by a single rod, parallel to the leading edge, attached to a rotating disk mounted flush in the sidewall of the working section. Data are presented in the form of velocity traces and contours of velocity and turbulent intermittency. The results highlight the interaction between the incoming wake and the natural boundary layer which features a long and thin laminar separation bubble; they demonstrate that wind tunnel experiments provide a good representation of boundary layer behavior under wake disturbances on turbomachinery blading. The calmed region behind the disturbance is a feature that is even stronger behind a wake interaction than behind a triggered turbulent spot. Intermittency values for the undisturbed flow in the separation bubble reattachment region are well represented by Narasimha's universal intermittency distribution, lending support to the use of intermittency-based predictive routines in calculations of blade boundary layers. [DOI: 10.1115/1.1829729]