Experimental investigation of boundary layer transition on rotating cones in axial flow in 0° and 35° angle of attack

In this paper, experimental results of using hot wire anemometer and smoke visualization are presented. The results obtained on the hot wire anemometer for critical Reynolds number and transitional Reynolds number are compared with previous results. Excellent agreement is found for the transitional Reynolds number. The results for the transitional Reynolds number are also compared with previous linear stability results. The results of the smoke visualization clearly show the crossflow vortices which arise in the transition process from a laminar to a turbulent flow. A non-zero angle of attack is also considered. We compare our results with linear stability theory put forward by Garrett and Peake (Eur J Mech B Fluid 26:344–353, 2007). Also the visualization and hot wire anemometer results have been compared graphically. The goal of this paper is to check reliability of using hot wire anemometer and smoke visualization in transition problems and check reliability of linear stability theory for this case and compare our results with some trusty experimental works.Graphical Abstract