An experimental study of a turbulent boundary layer in the trailing edge region of a circulation-control airfoil

This report describes the development of a new near-wall LDV technique and its use to measure the full turbulent stress tensor in a highly three-dimensional separated boundary layer flow. Laser Doppler velocimetry, with small diameter laser beams allowing small beam-crossing angles (i.e., larger fringe spacings), was used, resulting in measurements close to solid surfaces. Dennis Johnson of NASA/Ames combined the advantages offered by FFT signal processors with a beam-steering probe inserted in the flow to devise a new self-aligning, near-wall LDV approach capable of making direct measurements of the transverse velocity component. This new technique was applied to a 2D, zero-pressure-gradient, flat-plate boundary layer in the High Reynolds Number Pilot Channel at Ames. Accurate and repeatable measurements of U and uu to within 30 mm of the wall were obtained. Next, the near-wall LDV technique was employed in a 3D separated boundary layer flow, consisting of a 2-dimensional wall boundary layer approaching a right-angle wedge. The resulting lateral and adverse streamwise pressure gradients generated significant spanwise velocities and turbulent stresses, and a large reverse-flow region. The near-wall LDV was modified further to facilitate measurements in the 3D Wedge Flow.