TRANSITION PREDICTION ON BODIES OF REVOLUTION

Abstract : The purpose of the study was to evaluate transition prediction methods for axisymmetric configurations at high Reynolds numbers in incompressible flow. Methods selected for comparison were those Michel, Smith and Gamberoni, Hall and Gibbings, and Granville. Evaluation against the limited amount of experimental data available at relatively low Reynolds numbers indicates that no single method gives consistently satisfactory answers. The method of Smith and Gamberoni is given some discussion. All four methods were also applied to the calculation of transition points on four specified configurations and to a series of four semi-infinite bodies with elliptic nose caps. (Modified author abstract)