Validation of the Natural-Laminar-Flow Design for the National Experimental Supersonic Transport

Abstract

The natural-laminar-flow (NLF) design for the wing of the national experimental supersonic transport (NEXST) aims to suppress crossflow (CF) instability near the leading edge. We computationally investigate the growth of various stationary CF disturbances on the outer wing of the NEXST-1 model using the prediction system of boundary-layer transition. According to the N factors obtained, the growth of those disturbances is completely suppressed around the designed angle of attack, which shows that the NLF design for the NEXST-1 wing is valid.