Scaling laws for testing airfoils under heavy rainfall

Abstract

Subscale test data have shown that airfoils operating in a simulated heavy-rain environment can experience significant performance penalties. The physical mechanism resulting in this performance penalty has yet to be conclusively identified. Therefore, the extrapolation of subscale data to full-scale conditions must be undertaken with extreme caution since complete scaling laws are unknown. This paper discusses some of the technical issues that must be addressed and resolved prior to extrapolating the performance of full-scale airfoils from subscale test data. A set of scaling laws is suggested based on the neglect of thermodynamic interactions between the droplets and the air/water vapor phase.