Experimental and Numerical Simulation Research on Boundary Layer Transition Front over a Swept Wing at M = 6

To predict the boundary layer transition on swept wings, experimental and numerical researches were conducted to obtained the accurate boundary layer transition front and to evaluate the performance of two transition predicting models. Flow visualization and temperature measurement over a 65° swept wing were carried out under M = 6 with nano-tracer-based planar laser scattering system and temperature sensitive paints. Meanwhile, the k_T–k_L–ω and γ–Re_θt turbulence models were used to predict the boundary layer transition. Experiment results reflect that the transition front on the wing consists of three parts, including the transition near the wing root induced by separation, the transition dominated by stationary crossflow vortices and the transition in the connected region. The comparison between the simulation and experiment shows that the k_T–k_L–ω model performs better than γ–Re_θt model in predicting the shape and position of the transition front, as well as the limiting streamlines. Thus, the k_T–k_L–ω model is more suitable in predicting the boundary layer transition for this type of swept wing.