The problem of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of a 9.5% thick airfoil operated at low Reynolds number (RN = 380,000) was investigated experimentally.
An unmodified LRN-010 airfoil and a modified LRN-010 airfoil with a backward facing step on its upper surface were built and tested in the ERAU wind tunnel in order to obtain pressure distributions and drag for different angles of attack.
Results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained from the XFOIL CFD code. It was concluded that the step cutout modification improves the airfoil’s lift-to-drag ratio at low angles of attack by tripping the boundary layer and decreasing the size of the laminar separation bubble. For higher angles of attack, the step cutout degraded the performance of the airfoil.
","abstract_html":"<p>The problem of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of a 9.5% thick airfoil operated at low Reynolds number (R<sub>N</sub> = 380,000) was investigated experimentally.</p> <p>An unmodified LRN-010 airfoil and a modified LRN-010 airfoil with a backward facing step on its upper surface were built and tested in the ERAU wind tunnel in order to obtain pressure distributions and drag for different angles of attack.</p> <p>Results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained from the XFOIL CFD code. It was concluded that the step cutout modification improves the airfoil’s lift-to-drag ratio at low angles of attack by tripping the boundary layer and decreasing the size of the laminar separation bubble. For higher angles of attack, the step cutout degraded the performance of the airfoil.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rothan, Dominique"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Graduate Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jose Rodriguez","Tej Gupta","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1993,"date_issued":"1993-04-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1993-04-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:16Z","subjects":["laminar separation bubble","airfoil","Reynolds number","backward facing step","Aerospace Engineering"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/232","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jose Rodriguez","Tej Gupta","L.L. Narayanaswami"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rothan, Dominique"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Graduate Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["laminar separation bubble","airfoil","Reynolds number","backward facing step","Aerospace Engineering"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/232"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The problem of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of a 9.5% thick airfoil operated at low Reynolds number (RN = 380,000) was investigated experimentally.
An unmodified LRN-010 airfoil and a modified LRN-010 airfoil with a backward facing step on its upper surface were built and tested in the ERAU wind tunnel in order to obtain pressure distributions and drag for different angles of attack.
Results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained from the XFOIL CFD code. It was concluded that the step cutout modification improves the airfoil’s lift-to-drag ratio at low angles of attack by tripping the boundary layer and decreasing the size of the laminar separation bubble. For higher angles of attack, the step cutout degraded the performance of the airfoil.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Low Reynolds Number Laminar Separation Bubble Control Using a Backward Facing Step"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jose Rodriguez","Tej Gupta","L.L. Narayanaswami"],"dc:creator":["Rothan, Dominique"],"dc:description.abstract":["The problem of a laminar separation bubble on the upper surface of a 9.5% thick airfoil operated at low Reynolds number (RN = 380,000) was investigated experimentally.
An unmodified LRN-010 airfoil and a modified LRN-010 airfoil with a backward facing step on its upper surface were built and tested in the ERAU wind tunnel in order to obtain pressure distributions and drag for different angles of attack.
Results were found to be in good agreement with the results obtained from the XFOIL CFD code. It was concluded that the step cutout modification improves the airfoil’s lift-to-drag ratio at low angles of attack by tripping the boundary layer and decreasing the size of the laminar separation bubble. For higher angles of attack, the step cutout degraded the performance of the airfoil.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/232"],"dc:subject":["laminar separation bubble","airfoil","Reynolds number","backward facing step","Aerospace Engineering"],"dc:title":["Low Reynolds Number Laminar Separation Bubble Control Using a Backward Facing Step"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Graduate Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:16Z"}