Analysis of the Effect of Heat Strips on Boundary Layer Development Over a Flat Plate

Two dimensional fourth order boundary layer calculations were made for flows over a flat plate with and without flush mounted surface heating. Constant wall temperature, increasing wall temperature and decreasing wall temperature heating cases were studied for different surface heating lengths. The boundary layer properties; temperature, tangential velocity, normal velocity, vorticity and transition location were studied for these temperature distributions. The boundary layer results indicate that with the proper selection of surface temperature variation and length the transition location can be either increased or decreased. Modified boundary layer properties, due to heating are shown to persist well after heating is stopped, even when the flow is turbulent. The results indicate that this technique may be useful in modifying transition and separation locations over airfoils.