Design and Fabrication of Large Suction Panels With Perforated Surfaces for Laminar Flow Control Testing in a Transonic Wind Tunnel

Considerable progress has been made in the development of structural panels with perforated suction surface material for laminar flow control application. Electron-beam perforated titanium skin was used as the suction surface. Critical issues related to suction panel manufacturing were identified and largely resolved. Techniques used could be adapted to modern aircraft production lines for laminar flow control wings. The final product included fabrication of a 7 foot chord by 7 foot span perforated laminar flow control wind tunnel model. This report includes details on the wind tunnel model panel instrumentation and other features required for testing in a transonic pressure tunnel.