Some ideas and opportunities concerning three-dimensional wind-tunnel wall corrections

Opportunities for improving the accuracy and reliability of wall corrections in conventional ventilated test sections are presented. The approach encompasses state-of-the-art technology in transonic computational methods combined with the measurement of tunnel-wall pressures. The objective is to arrive at correction procedures of known, verifiable accuracy that are practical within a production testing environment. It is concluded that: accurate and reliable correction procedures can be developed for cruise-type aerodynamic testing for any wall configuration; passive walls can be optimized for minimal interference for cruise-type aerodynamic testing (tailored slots, variable open area ratio, etc.); monitoring and assessment of noncorrectable interference (buoyancy and curvature in a transonic stream) can be an integral part of a correction procedure; and reasonably good correction procedures can probably be developd for complex flows involving extensive separation and other unpredictable phenomena.