Artificial thickening of wind tunnel boundary layers via an array of cross-flow jets

Measurements of momentum and turbulence profiles show that an array of variously sized cross-flow jets can artificially thicken the boundary layer in a wind tunnel within a small streamwise distance downstream of the jet array. During experiments the wind tunnel is at sub-atmospheric pressure, and this pressure difference is sufficient to operate the jets. The thickness of the boundary layer is changed by throttling the air supply to the array of jets. This technique is successful in studies of the flow in flush type intakes of high-speed catamaran ferry vessels. © 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.