In the context of the ongoing research regarding boundary layer transition, this project aims to study the effects of isolated cylindrical roughness elements on the transition from laminar to turbulent flow in a swept wing boundary layer. The project entails experimental campaigns: the 45 degrees swept wing model is placed inside the test section of the Low Turbulence Tunnel (LTT) and millimeter-sized roughness elements are attached to it, so that their interference with the boundary layer flow can be studied. The main goal is to investigate the flow features generating aft the roughness elements and their development into turbulent streaks. Moreover, this project aims to understand and quantify the effects of different roughness sizes on transition mechanisms, in the specific case of a three-dimensional boundary layer. This is achieved by means of different experimental techniques, such as PIV, HWA and thermographic flow visualization.
The obtained results lead to a comprehensive description of this type of flows, with several phenomena changing their characteristics due to a change in parameters (freestream speed, roughness diameter and roughness height). Velocity field, spectral analysis of the signal, wedge width evolution, instability modes and velocity fluctuations in time were investigated with different parametric conditions, in order to understand how the flow was affected by
them. Furthermore, the study allowed to evaluate the use of non-dimensional parameters such as roughness Reynolds number and aspect ratio for the prediction of the flow topology. The complexity of the phenomena involved is underlined in the conclusions of this research, with the interaction of several flow features making it a broad and interdisciplinary field of research. ... Read more

Wings operated at low and moderate Reynolds number such as the ones of UAVs or the blades of small turbine and of compressors, can be the source of an aero-acoustic phenomenon called laminar boundary layer instability noise. The narrow band noise can be attenuated using trailing edge (TE) serrations (Chong et al. 2013, Moreau et al. 2012) but the mechanism behind tonal attenuation is yet to be investigated in detail. An experimental study (1.32X105 < Re < 5.30X105) is conducted in an open-jet low turbulence wind tunnel using NACA 0018 airfoil (c = 0.20m) with modified TE. The acoustic emission in the far field is recorded using far-field microphones whereas the developing field near the TE is studied using Time resolved planar particle image velocimetry and oil flow visualization techniques. Study showed the serration-3 (2h = 20mm, λ = 10mm) has maximum tonal noise attenuation and effect the point of separation of laminar separation bubble. The span-wise change in flow characteristics in case of serrations can be attributed to the effective chord-length of the wing at each span-wise position. Further span-wise correlation of chord-wise flow fluctuations show the flow being turbulent upstream of serration-3 TE modification. ... Read more