Design and performance of the University of Michigan 6.6-inch hypersonic wind tunnel

The tunnel described has several design features intended to maintain laminar flow in the boundary layer of its nozzle. Measurements show that transition to turbulence in the nozzle wall boundary layer begins at the throat and is sensitive to surface roughness, heat transfer rate, and longitudinal radius of curvature. The observed dependence of transition on heat transfer rate is the reverse of that predicted by stability theory for infinitesimal disturbances. Tests include boundary layer surveys of a contoured nozzle and a conical nozzle with four interchangeable throats.