JRG-B1 - Physics of Laminar Wing and Fuselage

The Junior Research Group “Physics of Laminar Wing and Fuselage” (JRG-B2) is part of the core research area “Flight Physics and Vehicle Systems” within the Center of Excellence SE2A-Sustainable and Energy-Efficient Aviation. The research activity focuses on applying hybrid laminar flow control (HLFC) by suction means on transport aircraft. Main objectives are to develop design and optimization tools for airfoil with suction-based system, to investigate the suction boundary layer using multi fidelity CFD solvers and wind tunnel experiments, and to formulate reduced order modeling for suction-system HLFC in overall aircraft.

Research focus

Research Question: How much laminar flow can be obtained on the wings and fuselage? And how to translate the BL requirements for laminarization into suction-based system design?

Strategy: A novel wing design for optimal pressure distribution will be developed. First, an optimal airfoil with suction BL will be designed for un-swept wings of a short-range aircraft. The research will be extended to the design of higher-speed airfoils with suction, for medium-range aircraft with transonic swept wings. A combined numerical, experimental work will be performed.