A statistical analysis of the surface pressure distribution on a delta wing

This paper describes and presents results from static wind tunnel tests conducted on a 60° delta wing at a root chord Reynolds number of 2·7 x 106. In these tests, the wing was instrumented with 192 miniature pressure transducers which, in conjunction with a powerful multi-channel data-logging system, allowed the distribution of time-varying surface pressures to be measured at high temporal resolution. Analysis indicates that the distribution of root mean square pressure on the leeward surface of the wing can provide considerable insight into the behaviour of both the primary and secondary vortex structures. In addition, it has been established that the frequency content of pressure signals measured in the vicinity of these vortex structures is sensitive to the vortex state. It is suggested that these data features can be directly attributed to previously observed behavioral characteristics of the vortex breakdown process.