Boundary layer control

Boundary layer control refers to methods of controlling the behaviour of fluid flow boundary layers.

It may be desirable to reduce flow separation on fast vehicles to reduce the size of the wake
(streamlining), which may reduce drag. Boundary layer separation is generally undesirable in aircraft
high lift coefficient systems and jet engine intakes.

Laminar flow produces less skin friction than turbulent but a turbulent boundary layer transfers heat
better. Turbulent boundary layers are more resistant to separation.

The energy in a boundary layer may need to be increased to keep it attached to its surface. Fresh air can
be introduced through slots or mixed in from above. The low momentum layer at the surface can be
sucked away through a perforated surface or bled away when it is in a high pressure duct. It can be
scooped off completely by a diverter or internal bleed ducting. Its energy can be increased above that of
the free stream by introducing high velocity air.

Contents
Nature
Sports
Boundary layer control on a cylinder
Maintaining a laminar boundary layer on aircraft
Aircraft design and boundary layer control
See also
References

Nature
Frank E. Fish states that dolphins appear to have a turbulent boundary layer to reduce the likelihood of
separation and minimize drag, and that mechanisms for maintaining a laminar boundary layer to reduce
skin friction have not been demonstrated for dolphins.[1]

The wings of birds have a leading edge feature called the Alula which delays wing stalling at low speeds
in a similar manner to the leading edge slat on an aircraft wing.[2]

Thin membrane wings found on bats and insects have features which appear to cause favourable
roughening at the Reynolds numbers involved, thereby enabling these creatures to fly better than would
otherwise be the case.[3]

Sports
Balls may be given features which roughen the surface and extend the hit or throw distance. Roughening
causes the boundary layer to become turbulent and remain attached farther round the back before
breaking away with a smaller wake than would otherwise be the case. Balls may be struck in different
ways to give them spin which makes them follow a curved path. The spin causes boundary layer
separation to be biased to one side which produces a side force.

BL control (roughening) was applied to golf balls in the 19th century. The stitching on cricket balls and
baseballs acts as a boundary layer control structure.[4]

Boundary layer control on a cylinder

In the case of a freestream flow past a cylinder, three methods may be employed to control the boundary
layer separation that occurs due to the adverse pressure gradient.[5] Rotation of the cylinder can reduce or
eliminate the boundary layer that is formed on the side which is moving in the same direction as the
freestream. The side moving against the flow also exhibits only partial separation of the boundary layer.
Suction applied through a slit in the cylinder near a separation point can also delay the onset of
separation by removing fluid particles that have been slowed in the boundary layer. Alternatively, fluid
can be blown from a faired slit such that the slowed fluid is accelerated and thus the point of separation is
delayed.

Maintaining a laminar boundary layer on aircraft

Laminar flow airfoils were developed in the 1930s by shaping to maintain a favourable pressure gradient
to prevent them becoming turbulent. Their low-drag wind tunnel results led to them being used on
aircraft such as the P-51 and B-24 but maintaining laminar flow required low levels of surface roughness
and waviness not routinely found in service.[6] Krag[7] states that tests on the P-51 airfoil done in the
high speed DVL wind tunnel in Berlin showed the laminar flow effect completely disappeared at real
flight Reynolds numbers. Implementing laminar flow in high-Reynolds-number applications generally
requires very smooth, wave-free surfaces, which can be difficult to produce and maintain.[6]

Maintaining laminar flow by controlling the pressure distribution on an airfoil is called Natural laminar
flow(NLF)[6] and has been achieved by sailplane designers with great success.[8]

On swept wings a favorable pressure gradient becomes destabilizing due to cross flow and suction is
necessary to control cross flow.[9] Supplementing the effect of airfoil shaping with boundary layer
suction is known as laminar flow control (LFC)[6]

The particular control method required for laminar control depends on Reynolds-number and wing
leading edge sweep.[10] Hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC)[6] refers to swept wing technology in which
LFC is applied only to the leading edge region of a swept wing and NLF aft of that. NASA-sponsored
activities include NLF on engine nacelles and HLFC on wing upper surfaces and tail horizontal and
vertical surfaces.[11]

Aircraft design and boundary layer control

In aeronautical engineering, boundary layer control may be used to reduce parasitic drag and increase
usable angle of attack. Fuselage-mounted engine intakes are sometimes equipped with a splitter plate.
Much research was conducted to study the lift performance enhancement due to suction for aerofoils in
the 1920s and 1930s at the Aerodynamische Versuchsanstalt in Göttingen. An example of an aircraft
which uses boundary layer control is the Japanese sea plane the ShinMaywa US-1[12]. This large four-
engined aircraft is used for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and search and rescue (SAR). It is capable of
STOL operation and very low air speeds, useful for both ASW and SAR.

See also
Blown flap
Coandă effect
High-lift device
Circulation control wing
Leading edge slot
Boundary layer suction
Vortex generator
Aerodynamics
Turbulator

References
1. The myth and reality of Gray’s paradox: implication of dolphin drag reduction for technology
https://web.archive.org/web/20160305153746/http://darwin.wcupa.edu/~biology/fish/pubs/pdf/
2. http://www.ardeola.org/files/1295.pdf
3. "The Design of the Aeroplane" Stinton Darrol, BSP Professional Books, Oxford 1989,
ISBN 0-632-01877-1, p.97
4. "Spinning Flight" Lorenz Ralph D. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2006, ISBN 0-
387-30779-6, p.33
5. "Boundary-Layer Theory"Schlichting Klaus, Gersten, E. Krause, H. Jr. Oertel, C. Mayes 8th
edition Springer 2004 ISBN 3-540-66270-7
6. "Understanding Aerodynamics Arguing from the Real Physics"McLean Doug, John Wiley &
Sons Ltd. Chichester, ISBN 978-1-119-96751-4, p.339
7. http://wp1113056.server-he.de/ABL/20-forschung/laminarfluegel/laminarfluegel_en.htm
8. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120916162555/http://adg.stanford.edu/aa24
1/supplement/Lam-Flow-Control-AIAA-2008-3738.pdf#) (PDF). Archived from the original (h
ttp://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/supplement/Lam-Flow-Control-AIAA-2008-3738.pdf#) (PDF)
on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2016-01-13.
9. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19790025267.pdf
10. http://goldfinger.utias.utoronto.ca/IWACC2/IWACC2/Program_files/Collier_2.pdf slide 12
11. http://goldfinger.utias.utoronto.ca/IWACC2/IWACC2/Program_files/Collier_2.pdf slide 5
12. ShinMaywa promotional video, ca. 1980 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtTzohVZOfE)

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