Effect of Flat Plate Leading Edge Pattern on Structure of Streamwise Vortices Generated in Its Boundary Layer

Abstract

The use of leading edge with different geometrical patterns will affect the development of boundary layer flow on a flat plate and its heat transfer properties. In this work, the effects of three patterns namely saw-tooth, semicircular and slots with same wavelength and amplitude were examined. The experiments were carried out for Reynolds number based on wavelength of patterns ranging from 1540 to 3850. For all cases, after each valley, an oval shape region was formed containing a counter- rotating vortex pair. It is also shown that for the flat plate with slots, another vortex was visualized between each valley.