Towards extending the aircraft flight envelope by mitigating transonic airfoil buffet

In the age of globalization, commercial aviation plays a central role in maintaining international connectivity. However, the upper limit of the aircraft flight envelope in the high-speed transonic regime is often set by aeroelastic effects associated with transonic buffet, an aerodynamic instability characterized by self-sustained shock wave oscillations on wings that induce unsteady loads and can threaten structural integrity. Suppressing transonic buffet is therefore of great interest to extend the flight envelope. This study demonstrates experimentally that applying porous trailing edges substantially attenuates the buffet phenomenon. Because porous trailing edges also reduce trailing-edge noise, they offer the prospect of faster air transport with reduced noise emissions.

Esther Lagemann, Steven L. Brunton, Wolfgang Schröder, Christian Lagemann