Low-speed upwash interference on a transport model in a rectangular slotted-wall wind tunnel

A study was made of the upwash interference caused by the wind tunnel walls at a Mach number of 0.20. The wind tunnel has slotted horizontal walls and solid vertical walls and the wind tunnel model is a wing-fuselage combination typical of a short take-off and landing (STOL) transport. Measurements were made of the model forces and angle of attack. The experimental results are compared to theoretical solutions for the upwash interference. This comparison enabled an indirect determination of one of the constants in the slotted wall boundary condition. The magnitude of the experimental upwash interference is also compared to the accuracy of the data. This comparison indicates that it is difficult to make definite conclusions based on the experimental data. Suggestions are made for future research which could provide a practical means of accurately determining the wall-interference velocities in wind tunnels with rigid slotted walls.