Faculty of ACES

Wind tunnel test

Boundary layer development and
separation on a flat plate
Coursework 2
Module Leader: Xinjun CUI
Leo Hamad
B1050081
Date: 18/03/2014

Contents
Table of Figures and tables: ....................................................................................... 2
Introduction: ............................................................................................................... 3
Apparatus: .................................................................................................................. 3
Procedure:.................................................................................................................. 4
Introduction to boundary layer and background theory: ............................................. 4
Laminar Flow over a Flat Plate: .................................................................................. 6
Boundary layer equations by Blasius: ..................................................................... 6
Sample calculations: .................................................................................................. 8
Results: ...................................................................................................................... 9
Discussion and conclusion: ...................................................................................... 12
Bibliography ............................................................................................................. 13

Table of Figures and tables:

Figure 1The main parts of the flat plate boundary layer model AF106 ....................... 3
Figure 2: Fluid flow over flat plate (y-axis enlarged) ................................................... 5
Figure 3 Development of boundary layer for 20 m/s at 0 AoA ................................. 10
Figure 4 Development of boundary layer for 25 m/s at 0 AoA .................................. 10
Figure 5 Development of boundary layer for 30 m/s at 0 AoA .................................. 10
Figure 6 Development of boundary layer for 35 m/s at 0 AoA .................................. 11
Figure 7 Development of boundary layer for 20 m/s at AoA ..................................... 11
Figure 8 Development of boundary layer for 25 m/s at AoA ..................................... 12
Figure 9 Development of boundary layer for 30 m/s at AoA ..................................... 12
Figure 10 Development of boundary layer for 35 m/s at AoA ................................... 12
Table 1 Table of Results for velocity of 20 m/s at 0 AoA ............................................ 8

Introduction:
Boundary layer has been an important subject to investigate since 1904, as its
theory is applied in the development on hydraulics and aerospace sciences. In this
laboratory, we investigated the development of the boundary layer and its separation
on a flat plate model (AF106) using the wind tunnel (AF100).

Apparatus:
As mentioned above, the apparatus used in this lab were a flat plate model (AF106)
and the wind tunnel (AF100) in addition to the wind tunnel computers that were used
to record specific data such as pressure and a manometer.
The flat plate is made of two parts, they are both hinged stainless steel flat plates
where one of the, is flexible to be adjusted vertically to a decided angle to set an
ideal condition as wished for the experiment. And are both fitted inside the
working section of the wind tunnel.
The upper surface of the fixed flat plate has five small aerofoils set at right angle
to the plate with the leading edge facing the incoming air. Each of these aerofoils
has five tapping on the leading edge where each is connected to a pressure tube
that is connected to a manometer outside the wind tunnel to measure the
pressure of the air. The aerofoils are set in a way where their wakes do not
interfere with each other.
The adjustable plate is connected to an adjuster that is located outside the wind
tunnel to make it easier to adjust without the need of taking it out of the working
section of the tunnel as shown in the figure below.

Figure 1The main parts of the flat plate boundary layer model AF106

Aerofoils are located at a horizontal distance of 40, 90, 150, 220 and 300 mm
from the leading edge. And each Aerofoils has the tapings at 0.5, 1.5, 3, 6
and10mm as the vertical distance from the base of the flat plate.

Procedure:
Firstly, the room pressure of and temperature were inserted to the computer before
the experiment was started.
After that, the flat plate model was adjusted carefully to give the ideal conditions to
achieve a satisfactory boundary layer by having a horizontal reference line at 0
degrees to the x-axis on the windshield of the wind tunnel with the trailing edge on
the same level. this was done to prevent the separation of the boundary layer off the
flat plate before it reaching to the aerofoil fitted closer to the trailing edge, and this is
because if the boundary layer separates, there will be high turbulence which will give
the pressure tapings wrong readings.
Following that, the pressure reading of the pressure tapings on the wind tunnel was
zeroed.
After that was done, the experiment was conducted using four different airflow
velocities varying from 10 m/s to 35 m/s. Data was collected after that.
Following that, the angle of the trailing edge was changed to a negative value and
the same procedure was repeated.
Finally local velocity at each location was calculated using the Bernoulli's
principle

V 2

pT p0

where

pa
RTa

and graphs were plotted.

Introduction to boundary layer and background theory:

In 1904, a German engineer named Ludwig Prandtl first introduced the revolutionary
concept of a boundary layer in a paper "on the motion of a fluid and very small
viscosity". Prandtl stated that when an ideal fluid (incompressible and nonviscous
fluid) flows past a stationery solid boundary, the flow will then be divided into two
parts. A part where a boundary layer attached to the surface has a viscous force
that cannot be neglected and is of main significance. And the other part which is a
flow in the outer region. This separation of the two fluid flows when considering the
theory was responsible for bridging the gap between the classic hydrodynamic
theory and the experimentally based branch of aeronautics known as hydraulics.
Boundary layers appear on surfaces as the fluid passes over them because it seems
to "stick" to them. This is known as the zero slip condition. At the surface, the flow
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has no relative speed and through the action of viscosity, the flow transfers
momentum to the neighbouring layers. Therefore, a layer must exist between the
stationery molecules at the surface of the object and the dynamic fluid flow, this layer
is known as the boundary layer. As the distance increases from the surface, the
velocity of the boundary layer increases until it reaches the velocity of the
mainstream flow.
As the boundary layer develop along the surface, its character change. It starts
initially with an entirely laminar flow, and then gradually thickens and the flow
becomes disturbed and develops to a turbulent flow; this short region of developing
is a mixture of both flows and is known as the transition region. After that, the
boundary layer then continues to thickens and develop until it reaches a point where
it separates from the surface under certain conditions. This can be shown in figure 2.
(Messey and Ward-Smith 2012)

Figure 2: Fluid flow over flat plate (y-axis enlarged)

As the boundary layer thickens and goes through the mentioned above transitions, it
slowly increases it's velocity until it is caught up with the speed of the outer main flow
stream. The thickness of the boundary layer, , can be described as the distance
required for the flow to about 99% of the velocity of the free stream, . (Messey and
Ward-Smith 2012) Boundary layers can be measured by more significant parameters
(Kundu and Cohen 2008). The main parameters are as followed:
1) The displacement thickness, which is described as the distance by which the main
streamlines shifted due to the existence of the boundary layer:

2) The momentum thickness, which is the height of the free stream flow which would
be needed to make up the momentum loss due to the presence of the boundary
layer:

3) The Reynolds number: This is a dimensionless number that indicates whether the
fluid flow past the surface is laminar or turbulent:

Laminar Flow over a Flat Plate:

One of the most fundamental problems in the sector of fluid mechanics is the laminar
flow over a flat plate. Boundary layer equations for flow along a flat plate have small
viscosity or large Reynolds numbers. With larger Reynolds numbers and small
viscosity, boundary layer thickness decreases. Navier-Stokes equations approximate
solutions of viscosity at high Reynolds numbers by finding u, v and p. Blasius derived
a simplified version of the equations that uses only u and v. These equations cannot
be solved analytically and a numerical method should be introduced to be able to be
solved such as the Runge-Kutta Numerical Method.

Boundary layer equations by Blasius:

The boundary-layer flow across a flat plate can be expressed as:
u v

0
x y

u
v
2u
v
v 2
x
y
y

The boundary conditions for these equations are: y=0, u=v=0, y= , and u= U ,
assuming that the leading edge of the plate is x=0 and the plate is infinity long. This
system of equations can be simplified further to an ordinary differential equation. To
do this, the following equation is used:

vx
U

To make this quantity dimensionless it can be divided by y to become:

U
vx

The stream function can be found from the equation of continuity as:

vxU f ()

Where f(n) is the dimensionless stream function. The velocity component u which is

equal to
can be expressed as follows:
y
u

y y

Since

vxU f ' ( ) , and

y
vx

. So,

u U f ' ( )
Also the transverse velocity component can be expressed as:
v

1 vU

(f ' f )
x 2
x

Now inserting these equations into the second boundary layer flow equation:
U 2
U 2
U 2

f ' f ' '

(f ' f ) v
f '''
2x
2x
xv

and with furthur simplification we have the Blasius ordinary differential equation.
ff ' '2 f ' ' ' 0

Where the boundary conditions are:

when 0 , f 0 and f ' 0 ; and when ,

f ' 1

Sample calculations:
The table below shows one of the results obtained and calculated for the boundary
layer thickness. Only one table was attached as a sample due to the high number of
data sheets. All results obtained were calculated as will be mentioned below.
No
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

Po (Pa)
0
0.13
0.096
0.05
0.013
0.009
0.096
0.059
0.027
0.013
0.01
0.097
0.056
0.028
0.015
0.023
0.161
0.142
0.109
0.061
0.04
0.11
0.078
0.045
0.018
0.011

Pt (Pa)
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2
238.2

v(m/s)
0
13.54215
15.52472
17.8601
19.53701
19.70976
15.52472
17.42782
18.91999
19.53701
19.66671
15.47004
17.57309
18.87515
19.45007
19.09832
11.43886
12.76914
14.79808
17.33029
18.32845
14.7407
16.47803
18.09579
19.31891
19.62358

x(mm)
40
40
40
40
40
40
90
90
90
90
90
150
150
150
150
150
220
220
220
220
220
300
300
300
300
300

y(mm)
0
0.5
1.5
3
6
10
0.5
1.5
3
6
10
0.5
1.5
3
6
10
0.5
1.5
3
6
10
0.5
1.5
3
6
10

Re
0
52737.43
52737.43
52737.43
52737.43
52737.43
118659.2
118659.2
118659.2
118659.2
118659.2
197765.4
197765.4
197765.4
197765.4
197765.4
290055.9
290055.9
290055.9
290055.9
290055.9
395530.7
395530.7
395530.7
395530.7
395530.7

Boundary
Thickness (mm)

layer

0.855228178
0.855228178
0.855228178
0.855228178
0.855228178
1.282842268
1.282842268
1.282842268
1.282842268
1.282842268
1.656142246
1.656142246
1.656142246
1.656142246
1.656142246
2.005687863
2.005687863
2.005687863
2.005687863
2.005687863
2.342138826
2.342138826
2.342138826
2.342138826
2.342138826

Table 1 Table of Results for velocity of 20 m/s at 0 AoA

Pt was calculated by taking an average of the taping pressure and P0 was calculated
by taking the average of upstream and downstream pressures respectively.
The local velocity at each location was measured using V 2
considering the density of the fluid (Air) as 1.18 kg/m3. For Example :

pT p 0

by

Furthermore, Reynolds number was calculated as it is important to determine the

boundary layer thickness. And it was calculated using:

Where density was considered as the density of air at sea level which is 1.18 Kg/m3
and Viscosity is considered as the viscosity of air at sea level which equals to
1.79*10^-5 Pa.s .
For Example:

Note: Reynolds number is dimensionless.

Finally, Boundary layer thickness was obtained using:

For Example:

The mentioned above calculation was repeated for every set of data in the same way.

Results:

vertical distance from the base of the flat plate

(mm)

Velocity profile for 20 m/s at 0 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

300

350

Figure 3 Development of boundary layer for 20 m/s at 0 AoA

vertical distance from the base of the flat plate

(mm)

Velocity profile for 25 m/s at 0 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150
200
250
300
350
horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 4 Development of boundary layer for 25 m/s at 0 AoA

vertical distance from the base of the flat plate

(mm)

Velocity profile for 30 m/s at 0 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 5 Development of boundary layer for 30 m/s at 0 AoA

10

300

350

vertical distance from the base of the flat

plate (mm)

velocity profile for 35 m/s at 0 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

300

350

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 6 Development of boundary layer for 35 m/s at 0 AoA

Velocity profile for 20 m/s at -5 AoA

vertical distance from the base of the flat plate
(mm)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0

-50

50

100

150

200

250

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 7 Development of boundary layer for 20 m/s at AoA

vertical distance from the base of the flat

plate (mm)

Velocity profile for 25 m/s at -5 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

11

300

350

Figure 8 Development of boundary layer for 25 m/s at AoA

vertical distance from the base of the flat plate

(mm)

Velocity profile for 30 m/s at -5 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 9 Development of boundary layer for 30 m/s at AoA

vertical distance from the base of the

flat plate (mm)

Velocity profile for 35 m/s at -5 AoA

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

horizontal distance from the leading edge (mm)

Figure 10 Development of boundary layer for 35 m/s at AoA

Discussion and conclusion:

The results above represent eight different set of data. The first four, are the set of
data of four different velocities from 20 m/s to 35 m/s at 0 AoA. The second four set
of data are of the same set of velocities but at -5 AoA.

By looking at the first four graphs, as speed increases, boundary layer thickness
decreases and the velocity profile decreases and there is higher sheer stress. This
means the faster the flow, the lower the Reynolds number, the later the separation
and the greater the laminar flow. This indeed matches the theory. By looking at
boundary
layer
thickness
equation
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It clearly shows that the relationship between boundary layer thickness and
Reynolds number is a positive correlation. Whereas the smaller the Reynolds
number, the narrower the thickness of the boundary layer, the laminar the flow.
Also, this is dependent on the velocity of the flow and is stated in the following
equation:

The above equation of Reynolds number states the negative correlation between
Reynolds number itself and the velocity. Where the higher the velocity, the lower the
Reynolds number is and in that case the thinner the thickness of the boundary layer.
By comparing the set of data between a 0 AoA and a -5 AoA, we can notice that
velocity profile on the aerofoil is narrower at -5 AoA. This means that the laminar flow
separates of the aerofoil at -5 AoA earlier than it separates of an aerofoil at 0 AoA.
In conclusion, it can be said that the experiment conducted was successful with a
minimum amount of errors and it also approved with the theory:
* As speed increases, Reynolds number decreases.
* The smaller the Reynolds number, the greater the laminar flow.
* The greater the laminar flow, the later the separation.

Bibliography
KUNDU, Pijush and COHEN, Ira (2008). Fluid Mechanics. 4th ed., Oxford, Elsevier
Inc.
MESSEY, Bernard and WARD-SMITH, John (2012). Mechanics Of Fluids. 9th ed.,
Oxon, Spon Press.

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