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    Boundary Layer

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    Boundary Layer

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    jhony
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    BOUNDARY LAYER

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    Boundary Layer

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    jhony

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    THE BOUNDARY LAYER 57

    The aerofoil shape that results from a large sphere is thick and can only be used at lower airspeeds.
    But the aerofoil resulting from the small sphere is slim and is suitable for use at high airspeeds. Both
    have the same properties as the spheres but without the turbulence downstream.
    The thickness/chord ratio is the ratio of the maximum thickness of an aerofoil to its chord length
    expressed as a percentage. The fineness ratio is the ratio of the chord length to the maximum thickness
    and is expressed as a nondimensional number. It applies to all streamlined bodies, not just to aerofoils.

    4.3 The Boundary Layer

    There is a layer of air that clings to the surface of an object and resists movement. This characteristic of
    the air is its viscosity, which although very small, is enough for the molecules of the air in contact with
    a surface to stick to the surface. It is static and therefore causes the laminar streamline flow adjacent to
    this layer to slow down, which in turn produces turbulence. The speed of the airflow changes from zero
    at the surface of the aerofoil to the full speed of the freeflow airstream a few millimetres away from the
    surface. This thin layer of sluggish air that clings to the surface of the object and in which the speed
    change of the airflow takes place is the boundary layer. Bernoulli’s principle that the sum of all forms of
    mechanical energy remains constant does not apply to the boundary layer, because mechanical energy
    and thermal energy are lost due to skin friction.
    The depth of the boundary layer is dependent on the Reynold’s number. (See Chapter 1). The
    Reynold’s number accounts for the following factors:

    a. the speed of the free airflow;


    b. the density of the air;
    c. the viscosity of the air;
    d. the compressibility of the air.

    In aerodynamics the boundary layer is important when considering wing stall, skin friction drag and
    heat transfer in high-speed flight. Additional factors that affect these considerations are the cleanliness of
    the aerofoil surface and the condition of the aerofoil surface. Boundary layers may be laminar (layered)
    or turbulent (disordered). The effect of the boundary layer on lift is accounted for in the coefficient of
    lift and the effect on drag is accounted for in the coefficient of drag. See Figure 4.3.

    TRANSITION
    POINT

    FREE-FLOW AIRSTREAM

    LAMINAR
    BOUNDARY
    LAYER TURBULENT

    ZERO VELOCITY AT THE SURFACE

    LOW GRADUAL
    REYNOLDS SPEED HIGH REYNOLDS NUMBER
    NUMBER CHANGE TURBULENT UNSTEADY FLOW

    Figure 4.3 The Boundary Layer.

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