Analysis of the Effects of Wall Interference on 0.4×0.8-Meter Transonic Wind Tunnel Airfoil Tests

This article presents analytical and computational analysis of the influence of the wind tunnel walls on transonic airfoil tests. The goal is to quantify the effects of the wind tunnel walls and characterize the key parameters affecting the flow field in order to construct a numerical model to realize experimental data corrections. Firstly, the experimental data are compared with well-documented data in the literature to perform preliminary corrections. Secondly, an analytical method based on small perturbation theory is used to estimate the wall interference. Finally, 2D and 3D numerical investigations of the influence of the wind tunnel walls on the transonic airfoil tests are performed to confirm the wall interference corrections. Results show the experiment Mach number in NF-6 wind tunnel can be corrected with Murthy sidewall correction method.