A Note on the Vortex Patterns in the Boundary Layer Flow of a Swept-back Wing

Abstract

Detailed investigations of the two-dimensional characteristics of thin aerofoil sections with small leading-edge radius have been made by Gault and McCullough. They found that at angles of incidence well below the stalling angle of the section, the laminar boundary layer separated from the surface near the nose, became transitional away from the surface, and re-attached to the aerofoil as a turbulent layer a little farther downstream. Beneath the separated layer, a “bubble” vortex was formed lying parallel to the leading edge, its rotation being such that the flow adjacent to the surface was towards the leading edge.