COMPUTATION OF TRANSONIC VISCOUS-FLOW OVER AIRFOILS WITH CONTROL BY AN ELASTIC MEMBRANE AND COMPARISON WITH CONTROL BY PASSIVE VENTILATION

The performance of transonic wings can be influenced by control of the shock/boundary layer interaction (SBLI) using an adaptive surface in the shock region. This is achieved by inserting a cavity into the airfoil and covering it with an elastic membrane. The theoretical methods for the computation of transonic viscous flow around airfoils with control are presented. The zonal solution method consists of numerical and analytical parts. The influence of the adaptive wall on the flow field over a modern transonic airfoil has been investigated. The flow parameters have been varied up to off-design conditions to understand the physical effects of the control. Previous investigations of a second way of control, the passive ventilation, allow a comparison of these two methods.