Receptivity in transition prediction

The laminar-turbulent transition is a complex phenomenon involved in several multidisciplinary design issues, such as skin friction drag reduction, anti-icing and de-icing system performance prediction and heat transfer rates assessment. An accurate prediction of the boundary layer state is needed in order to control its thickness by active or passive systems. The state of the boundary layer is of high importance since skin friction drag and heat transfer rates in a turbulent boundary layer can be several times higher than those expected in laminar one. Furthermore, predicting the state of the boundary layer in wind tunnels and ensuring the same state during the real flight, by taking disturbances resulting from the experimental set up into account, leads to the design of transition triggering devices.[edited by author]