BOUNDARY LAYER TRANSITION AT THE LEADING EDGE OF THIN WINGS AND ITS EFFECT ON GENERAL NOSE SEPARATION

This chapter discusses boundary-layer transition at the leading edge of thin wings and also describes its effect on general nose separation. The design of aircraft to cruise at high subsonic speeds has necessitated the introduction of thin wings, often possessing considerable sweepback. A dominant feature in any transition mechanism is the creation of relatively large-scale vortices possessing axes parallel to the stream direction. Most of the transition studies to date have been carried out in regions of zero pressure gradients. The use of wires and steps as a means of precipitating transition in some of the experimental studies has indicated that laminar separation may only have a modifying effect on the main transition mechanism.