REPORT No. 410 ‘THE THEORY OF WIND-TUNNEL WALL INTERFERENCE By Tamovons Tsmoponeny ‘SUMMARY ‘This paper outlines the development of a general theory for the calculation of the effect of the boundaries ofthe air stream. on the flow past an airfoil. An analytical treat- ‘ment of the conventional closed and open jet types of rectangular wind tunnels disclosed the possibility of devising three distinelly new types: Tunnels with hori zontal boundaries only, with vertical boundaries only, and ‘with a bottom boundary only. Formulas are developed for the tunnel wall interference in. each case for an airfoil located at the center of the tunnel. The correction is give. a a function of the width to height ratio of the tunnel. ‘The formulas are exact for infinitely small airfoils only, but give good approximations for epans up to about three- quarters of the tunnel width. The eurprising result is obtained that the three last- mentioned nonconentional types of wind tunnels all are superior to the conventional open or closed tunnels as regards wall interference. It is, indeed, possible to design, three diatinet types of eemiclosed wind tunnels having no swall interference; namely, a square tunnel with horizontal boundaries and no side walls, a rectangular type of width to height ratio of slightly less than 2 :1 and equipped. swith vertical boundaries only, and one of @ ratio of 2:1 and equipped with one horizontal boundary. ‘The author goes on to show that instabilities in the flow may occur for the free jet and the open Bottom type tun- nels, impairing the predictability of the tunnel wall cor- rections. A tunnel with a jet free on three sides and restricted only by a lower horizontal boundary extending along the test section from the entrance to the exit cone, is finally recommended as the most promising choice, INTRODUCTION ‘Phe two main factors of concern as regards the appli- cation of wind-tunnel date to free-light conditions are the Reynolds Number and the tunnel wall interference. ‘The finite cross section of the stream of air in a wind tunnel gives rise to « flow past an airfoil or other body which differs distinctly from the flow at “free” air conditions. In the lenguage of mathematics, the solu- tion of the problem of the air flow past the’body must satisfy the boundary conditions at the surfeco of the stream, For tunnels having a closed working section the solution must be such that the component of the ‘velocity normal to the boundary must be zero. For jet-type wind tunnels the condition to be satisfied at the surface is that of an unaltered or constant flow velocity. Considering « thin layer of air at the outer boundary, this layer will not experience any relative distortion of its individual elements because each element is pro- sressing et a fixed velocity of translation. This state- mentis, however, only true as regards first order affects. Its, in particular, epparent that the surfaces are dis- torted in a normal direction. Surface elements origi- nally plane will thus not remain plane. In the particular types of wind tunnels proposed by tho author in the following, both kinds of boundary: conditions have to be satisfied simultaneously, inas- much es the working section is composed of ‘“freo” surfaces as well as fixed walle. It is possible to introduce a third kind of boundary condition; nemely, ono depicting the condition of a flexible boundary, but this case is solely of mathemat- ical interest. ‘The construction of the tunnel mey be considered as an independent tesk; the main concern is to produce flow in the test chamber which is parallel to itself and constant in magnitude. No theoreticel reasons exist to preclude the achievement of such an end. Of considerable consequence es regards the operating flow characteristics is the choice of tumnel type and the geomistricel shape of its eross section. ‘A number of cases can fortunately be treated with mathematical stringency. ‘The airfoil is considered to be small compared with the cross section of tho tunnel, and is mathematically ropresonted for this purpose by 2 vortex doublet lino through the center of the cross section and axtending from tho plane of the test section to infinity in the direction of the flow. ‘This simplified assumption yields results which ere substantially correct for airfoils extending across as much as three- quarters of the tunnel width, For lerger spans the ‘treatment is complicated by the fact that the effect of the interference varies noticeably along the span. ‘The interference in an open or closed circular tunnel is known from classical hydrodynamics. ‘The effects are numerically identical, but of opposite sign. ‘The closed rectangular tunnel has beon treated by Glauert. 219220 (Reference 1.) ‘The present paper is devoted to a systematic analytical treatment of the properties and relative advantages of tho soveral possible arrange- ments of rectangular tunnels, including the conven- tional types. ‘WIND-TUNNEL INTERFERENCE ‘Tho wind-tunnel wall interference is obtained ans- lytically by arranging a series of vortices in such & manner that the given boundary conditions are satis- fied. ‘The problem of tho circular cross section is case of elementary hydrodynamics, and the textbooks will be referred to. Let G be the cross-sectional area of the tunnel, S the ares of the airfoil, and « the upward inclination of the sir stream due to the interference at the boundary. ‘The caso of the circle is then given by ada, where the upper sign refers to.e closed and the lower sign to an open tunnel. ‘The magnitude eis dimension Jess and represents an angle of “up-flow.”” ‘The angle is mumevely of somo eonaquecy; the ratio Sey reach a value of f+ G,'may reach, say, 1.8, while tho ‘Roous 1—Vortal oof eqldl- constant of proportionality in the most unfavorable case of an open rectangular jet of a 2:1 ratio is equal to 0.26. ‘This gives a valuo of ¢ equel to about 3.7°. ‘Several interesting arrangements of rectangular cross sections will now be treated. For the sake of uni- formity in presentation, the case of a closed rectangular section, which is the only type studied in the previ- ous literature, will be included. Consider the follow- ing problem. Let 0 be the origin of a rectangualr aystent of coordinates. (Fig. 1.) At z is arranged a vertical column of equidistant line vortices of strength T perpendicular to the 2-y plane, the vortices extending from the a-y plane to infinity in one direction. Whet is the value of the disturbance at z—0 caused by a ver. tical column of such vortices extending from y= — © toy=te? REPORT NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS If the distance botween the vortices bo designated /, we have for the nth unit above the z-axis the velocity at tho origin perpendicular to the radius veetor from that point, ie Pe and for the vertical component, Foe Pe ‘The velocity due to all the vortices at « is parallel to the y-axis and equal to re 2 i Fe a oS Eat ee ‘This expression may be brought into a very simplo form: = SsdurED aw © If the vortices are of alternating signs, starting with “+P at y=0, a corresponding expression is obtained: ralieheg ie cy e lavas 2—Vere ow fale tant coat ‘The next step is to study the effeot of doublets in- stead of single vortices as in Figure 2. Let the strength of the doublet be Tal. ‘The doublets, which in the following discussion are termed positive, are so arranged a8 to correspond to the vortices of an airfoil‘(THE THEORY OF WIND-TUNNEL WALL INTERFERENCE at a positive angle‘ of attack and facing the reader; that is, with tho air stroam down toward the paper. From the definition of the derivative of F(c) as ke 2-10 H+42)—F 0), it will bo soen that tho effect of th doublet is readily obtained as the nogative of the derivatives of the expressions already determined, multiplied by al. Honce the flow velocity at 0 in the positive y direction 4s, from equation (1), == Tal Ae ge deh and in the second case, equation (11), with alternating signs F coven =F GY ‘The effect of a row of doublets arranged along the y- axis must be treated separately. We are interested in ‘the effect of the row extending from minus to plus infinity minus tho unit located at the origin (0, 0). ‘From formula (1) we have for this case with 2—A2 “SO ae om ral a cock zm or ae de| iaz Axe oy tA 1 “Ph On he whore 2, is the effect of the doublet at the origin. This expression may bo expanded in » saries as follows: [RICA] ibCE)-aCe)+ ---] ‘The negative derivative of this expression times = gives the induced velocity of a series of positive dove sources located at 2=0 and y=nk where m assumes all positive and negative integral values excepting zero. Tald sfizaz 1 Hence Ee GBB hb 45 Se) + J “EOG- ae ---) or for small values of Ax eal OE ” oe 221 and similarly for a row of doublets on the y-axis with error wn hi, By means of the ebove formulas the interference caused by rectangular tunnels can be determined. ‘The following five cases aro investigated: I. Tunnel entirely enclosed. IL. Free jet. II. Horizontal boundaries only. TV. Vertical boundaries only. Y. Bottom boundary only. ‘The wing will be represonted by a positive double source, which is equivalent to considering tho airfoil small compared with the cross section (of the tunnel. ‘The conditions for which this assumption is parmissible cor of value will be specified later. Caso I—Closed tunnel—Tho images of the airfoil are conveniently represented by the schematic diagram of Figure 3.1 Let f bo tho height of the tunnel and 6 ‘Pome &-—Vortaxerangumet fr ded tan tho width. ‘Tho upflow velocity caused by a row of doublets located at z= mb is from (LV) for alternating. signs pcos i) ee For the row at 2=0, from (VI) 1/xVTAl -a(i) By summing up the effect of all rows from z= — © to z= +4 the total interference effect at the origin is obteined as 5 mb, cosh. =) oh ~B0( a) (aS) abies n Figur to ae indented Wy oopo sim222, ‘The series term in the above expression converges rapidly. We havo to consider, however, alarge number of small terms all of the same sign. A little farther on it-will bo shown how the value of the expression can be obtained with better than 1 per cent-aecuracy by the uso of an expression representing all terms of the eeries beyond the first. Case II—Free jet—The images of the airfoil are, for analytical purposes, represented by the schematic ‘Paves (ote arengonea fr bent diagram of Figure 4. For a vertical row located at z=mb one obtains correspondingly from Formula (IIT) on GY. sam ye where the factor (—1)" takes care of the elteraating signs of each row. For the row at 2=0 from (V) ona By summing up for all integral values of m from minus to plus infinity there results 2 vas Serta et foe toe with bac Case IN—Top and bottom closed, sides free—Tho arrangement of images is as indicated in Figure 5. ‘The REPORT NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ABRONAUTICS flow at 2=0, duo to an alternating 1ow at z=mb, is again given by Formula (IV) es 20s and for the zero row from Formula (VI) as 3g ‘The total interference is thus given as, Sc a" _ Tal, ax) Tal(/e\(1 “EO G+) Case IV—Bides closed, top and bottom open—The arrangement of images is here as indicated in Figure 6 * ores argent, for tonal with Notice that all images are positive. ‘The flow at the origin due to a row at 2=mb is from (C11) Bs ae except for the row at 2=0, which is given by yi oe Again by summation @) ‘The labor of summing up the rather slowly converging series S, can again be avoided, as will be shown.‘(THE THEORY OF WIND-TUNNEL WALL INTERFERENCE Case V—Bottom or top boundary only—The arrangement of images for bottom boundary only is as shown in Figure 7. It shay be observed that the ‘rou 7-—Vorter ranean tana with betton, ‘Tousieoa offects at tho origin of the alternate (odd) rows of, doublets on either side of the z-axis cancel in pairs. All odd rows may then be removed, and the distri- bution of doublets that remains is exactly as that given in Caso TH and Figure 5, except that h is replaced by 2h. That is, the induced effects at the origin of a tunnel with bottom boundary only, of width to height ratio b/b, is equivalent to thet of a tunnel with top and bottom boundaries only, of width to height ratio b/2h. ‘Then where $’, is equal to Sy with each h replaced by 2h. ‘The process of evaluating the two rather slowly converging series S, and S; will now be indicated. ‘The individual terms represent, as shown, the inter- ference due to a row of doublets at z=mb. For large values of m it does not matter whether & doublet of strength TAl is arranged at 2—mb or whether two vortices of opposite sign and of strength 75! are sub- stituted at2—(m—})bandz=(m +35, eopeotively. By the second arrangement all vortices except the one nearest the origin aro cancelled by being superimposed ‘on ono of opposite sign. ‘The entiro affect ofall ver- tical rows of positive doublets extending from 2=mb to infinity is thus represented by the effect of a single positive vortex row of a strength “located at z= (2 +4) where p is the number of the last doublet taken into account. ‘The accuracy is the greater, the grenter the chosen value of p. Fortunately, it is found that it is eufficiont to make p=1 and still retain an accuracy of better than 1 per cent. ‘The numerical evaluation of the expressions is thus greatly simplified. 223, ‘The effect of single sources is given by (1) for rows of the same sign as T (2) coin eZ (F)eoth and by (I) for rows of alternating signs as tomy (F) coseeh zm cosh 7 i Tho series St 2 —— amb mA then accordingly cos 22 oi ons md a me a be written as S,= +§(G) cosech na s=5° saa ma be iin © sD geet 3G" coth, 2 2H) As mentioned = we obtain accuracy greater than is needed for any practical purposes by making p= in the above finite series expression. The remain- ing series Si and S, re obtained withoutany difficulties, ‘The expressions (VII) to (X) giving the induced flow at 20 are all of the form oem where 2 stands for S;, Ss, Ss, or S,, and ais a numerical constant. By moans of the aerodynamical relation TApV= 50.075 where p is tho density and V the velocity of the medium, end by putting r« pn6 tho upward inclination of the air stream, there results BG or with bh= Cand bar GED. (On writing Bs cm) where a= 042) cam224 it is noticed that the angle of up-flow e is proportional to the lift coefficient C;, to the ratio of wing area to ‘tunnel cross section 5, and to the quantity which in turn is seen to be a function solely of the width to height ratio # or r 1, ctoved tenner free, "Ey Ter onto! boundaries Bi Verii¢el boundaries. Z, One horizontal boundary. Closed circular tunnel’ ""F, Free circunor jer. a x : & 2 “o 7 z + ‘ous &—Tuandlaall ceutio 3 or fe type of ranger annals ot ‘wiibtolgnt ier ‘Tho values of 5 for the five cases consideredZare given below: 1 8(h8) UL #4 (-3+8) T+) TV. = 3(-3+8,) VFiGts) I. 8 REPORT NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ABRONAUTICS ‘These values are given in Table I and also plotted in Figure 8 against the single variable r as abscissa. ‘This figuré gives in a convenient way the essential results of the preceding analysis. ‘Tho square tunnel, $1, gives identical numerical values of tho interference whether it is open or closod, as is also tho caso for the circle, Tho square tunnel with horizontal boundaries shows no interferenco, A rather interesting result! Notice also thnt the open tunnels of the conventional width to height ratio exhibit a much larger correction factor than the closed type. Notice further that all of the proposed types aro superior to the conventional ones and in particular the surprisingly bonofical effect of a lowor horizontal boundary on an otherwise free jet. WIND TUNNELS FREE FROM WALL INTERFERENCE Inasmuch as wind-tunnel testing is largely concorned with the prediction of freo-fight performance of air- craft, it is highly desirable to omploy a wind tunnol ‘having no wall interference. Such tunnel is in this respect entirely equivalent to an sir stream of infinite cross section. ‘Tho results of the preceding analysis as represented in Figure 8 show that we are perfectly able to devise such a tunnel. Curve III, which corresponds to Caso TH, crosses the 3=0 tine at r=1, showing that square tunnel with walls at top and bottom and both sides removed has zero wall interference. Such type of tunnel exhibits the particular advantages of the open-jot tunnel and is distinctly superior to both of the conventional types by reason of the fact that it has zero wall interference, or stated otherwise, that it is equivalent to en infinite jet of air. It is further noticed that the curve IV representing ‘tho tunnel with closed sides crosses tho 6=0 line at r=19, showing that a rectangular jet of a width to height ratio of e little less then 2:1 and equipped only with vertical walls exhibits zero wall interference, ‘There is, however, a condition which renders the uso of tunnel wall correction in this particular caso rather questionable. ‘A single fixed horizontal boundary has also sur- prisingly beneficial guiding effect. Tho interference for the case of a 2:1 tunnel is identical with that of the square tunnel of Case III and is zero. Curve V represents a tunnel equipped with a bottom boundary only, ‘Tho interference is small compared with the free jet type. Whether a fixed bottom or top boundary is ‘employed is immaterial, since the result of tho analysis in both cases is the same, As regards the accurate prediction of the interference effect, it will be pointed out, however, that it is necessary to employ a tunnel with a fixed bottom,‘THE THEORY OF WIND-TUNNEL WALL INTERFERENCE EFFECT OF THE EXIT CONE ‘Pho preceding Case II refers strictly to a free jot. As such is defined jet which meets no obstructions behind the model body. Correspondingly, in Case IV there must be no obstruction to prevent the free flow ‘of tho air in a vertical direction. ‘Tho main effect of the exit cone as regards the wall interference is to guide the sir back into its original direction. In a well-designed cone with a small angle of divergence and sufficient bell we may assume this ‘end to bo achieved completely, as indicated in Figure 9. ‘Pious Showing wun ect eeit cont ‘Tho effect of the cone may then, as far as the inter- ference goes, be equivalent to the creation of e counter- circulation of magnitude ~T loceted some distance behind tho entrance of the cone. The “trailing” vortices will thus not extend from the plano of the airfoil to infinity, as was assumed in the earlier cases, Dut will close themselves in the exit cono, ‘The numer ical value of the interference can readily be found in each particular onso, although the method is rather cumbersome. ‘The solution is mathematically obtainable; there exist, however, some practical difficulties concerning the assumption of the type of flow to be expected in the exit cone. If tho cone is rather large and of poor fficiency, e condition similar to Caso TI, that of an entirely free jot, may actually occur. When the down- flow becomes large, the possibility exists that tho jet may break loose from the upper side of the cone and follow along the lower. Not only that, but, if the exit cone has an entrance too slightly belled or with no bell at all, the air may epill underneath the exit cone. It is entirely possible to imagine that the jot is doflected downward to such an extont that the correction will, exceed that of e free jet. ‘The difficulty in these several cases is that the correction factor 8 is dependent on the amount of the downflow and on factors of rather vaguely definable and unstable nature. In fact, it is probable that the interference is not even continuous function of the downflow, but is subject to abrupt changes at certain critical values. Tf tho tunnel is closed entirely or on the top end bottom sides, this difficulty is dispensed with-and the oxact mathematical prediction of the tunnel wall correction is possible, ‘This fact is essential, since thoro exists no experimental method by which the existing angle of downflow of the air current at the location of the test model can be obtained. 225 Attention is, therefore, again directed to the tunnels which have already been referred to as having no wall interference. One of theso is of a square cross section with two horizontal fixed boundaries. In contrast to the second typo of tunnel with no wall interference, there is in this case no possibility of spillage. The lateral deflection of the air stroam is nogligible, com- pared with the verticel, and sinco the air stream enters the diffuser cone in ‘perfect alignment no radical changes in the type of flow in the cone are to be ex- pected. ‘The third type of the proposed tunnels, the one with a lower boundary only, will obviously achieve the same end. Becauso e more efficient utilization of ‘the cross section of this tunnel is possible, and since the interference for a 2:1 tunnel is eight times smeller than that for the freo jot typo of the same side ratio, the superiority of this latter type is obvious. EFFECT OF LARGE WING SPAN ‘The effect of the airfoil has hitherto been represented by vortex doublets. The permissibility of this purely mathematical simplification will now be given some attention. Letus consider the airfoil to be reprosented by a vortex pair located a distance apart comparable to the width of the tunnel. ‘owns 1\—Vorerwangenen nosed sure ‘Se i tl ean teers sd Lot(Figure 10 represent a closed tunnel. For single alternating vortices in a, vertical row, Equation (1) gives ve = “pT poeh But TeblpV=} pVSC: Hence _% ~ 8 cosech ay) For the first row on cither side of the origin, however, it is necessary to omit the vortex located on the = axis, or 8S. (“s*F Ball226 ‘These formulas will be applied to the square tunnel with 4 1=35 or the span of the airfoil equal to thres- quarters of the tunnel width. The interference at the center (e=0) is 1 3/- a( i 0.289 ‘Tho next important ease, IIT, horizontal boundaries only, is shown in Figure 11. At tho canter ‘This caloulation can be easily performed for any par- ticular caso by means of the formulas (ZIV) and (KV). It is left to the reader, therefore, to check any case with which he is concerned. Notice from the preced: ing examples that it is undesirable to use an airfoil REPORT NATIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR AERONAUTICS which has an equivalent span of three-quarters of the width of a square tunnol becauso tho interference dif- fors too much over the span. ‘The flow at the center does not, howover, differ materially from the flow at shorter spans. It is thus possible to study the flow neer the fuselage of an airplane or model which may otherwise be too large for the tunnel. WING INTERCEPTING THE TEST TUNNEL ‘The undesirable condition of unequal interference along the span is still more pronounced when the wing span exceeds the width of the tunnel. In tho limiting caso, let the circulation along tho wing be constant. ‘Tho trailing vortices are then, mathematically speak- ang, located st 2= +2. Considering the caso of a closed tunnel, we can readily see that the real and a corresponding pair of virtual vortices cancel each other and that all the remaining virtual vortices cancel each other in pairs. On the other hand, for a free jet the interference near the vertical surface approaches theo- retically an infinite valuo due to the nearness of the first image. The flow near the center, however, remains finite. It is difficult to imagine thet tests on airfoils inter- cepting a free test jet would be of any value whatsoever except in the study of local conditions. ‘The prediction. of tho lift distribution is mathomatically of gront diffi culty, and moreover, the distribution differs too greatly. along the span to permit the application of the results to other conditions. Tt mey be postulated thet the interference effect along tho span must be nearly a ‘constant. Only in this case can a correction be applied. that is of sufficient simplicity and accureey. CONCLUSIONS Several rectangular wind tunnel arrangements that: exhibit zoro or negligible wall interference have been. brought out by a mathematical analysis of the general problem of tunnel interference. Uniform formulas hhave been presented for the calculation of the wall interference for the conventional as well as for the newly proposed wind tunnels. Tthas been indicated that the exnct prediotion of the interference for tunnels with no lower horizontal boundaries is greatly impaired by the inherent insta~ bility of the flow in tho exit cone. Attention has been brought to the importance of employing an exit cone with a small angle of divergence, and also to the impor- tance of having the air stream properly centered at the: entranco of the jet. A tunnel with a jot freo on three- sides and restricted only by a lower horizontal bound~ ary extending along the test section from the entrance to the exit cone, is finally recommended as the most promising choice. The correction for this type is from.‘THB THEORY OF WIND-TUNNEL WALL INTERFERENCE 227 five to eight times emaller than that of tho correspond- REFERENCES ing free jot type. eee sons Bama eee ee em ne den Laxoier Masons, Assonzonous Lasourony, | gif teen Ca asa Narionat Apvisory Coammrres ror ABRONAUTICS, ‘Functions. Publication 2672, Smithsonian Institution, Lanexey Frexp, Va., October 9, 1981. Taste I ALORS OF ST, COBB or AND cosh nar o 1 at Qa nner 143d tunnel a sinh nar 4sinh (2 +5 preebor, 1 eae horizontal boundaries vertical boundaries + | sinh er | coe =r | , | ° ° 125 | °. 4039 135 250 |< ass9 8 ai | rane 50, 500 | 2200 5 foo | & aoa iB 0 | S27 £00 Loo | 1h 6550 ro reo | se 200 zo | 267 £00