6 ms·
> when it stops being laminar the flow separates Not true, laminar/turbulent and attached/separated are independent descriptors. Flow can be laminar+attached,
by peterdsharpe 2y ago
> when it stops being laminar the flow separates
Not true, laminar/turbulent and attached/separated are independent descriptors. Flow can be laminar+attached, laminar+separated (e.g., laminar separation bubbles), turbulent+attached (e.g., the majority of boundary layers on large aircraft), or turbulent+separated.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago> laminar/turbulent and attached/separated are independent descriptors You’re right, I should have said when state changes. L/T:A/S are theoretically independent, but not independent for a given airfoil. (High-lift airfoils, common in gliders and most airframes with flaps deployed, are turbulent boundary-layer airfoils.)