Author : VVN Harish, Bhargav.A and Ch.Praveen Kumar

Boundary layers, however invisible to the naked eye, are a characteristic property found where the velocity of a fluid relative to a solid surface is nil, hence in the proximity of this surface a region of velocity increases gradually from nil to the free stream velocity. This has the undesirable effect of causing turbulent flow over long surfaces, which reduce the performance of moving solids by introducing frictional drag forces it has been noted that skin-friction drag is strongly intensified by the outset of turbulence, however, in turn this turbulence is also greatly strengthened by the flow separation. In addition, this laminar flow separation and skin-friction drag decrease lift effects or increases the pressure drag on the aerodynamic surfaces, resulting in decreased efficiency, increased fuel consumption. This research aims to reduce the boundary layer separation by introducing a suction slit to the wing at various positions of the wing and to compare the results with an un-suctioned airfoil. Computational technique is used to study the L/D ratios of various cases and analysis of airfoils. This technique is very powerful and spans a wide range of applications.

Keywords: Boundary layer, suction slit, airfoil, L/D ratio, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics), GAMBIT, FLUENT.

Article published in International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.6, No.4 (Aug-2016)