The near-wake of discrete roughness elements on swept wings: Tomographic PTV measurements

This work presents the first reported experimental characterization of the flow field in the direct vicinity of discrete roughness elements (DRE), in a swept wing boundary layer. High magnification tomographic Particle Tracking Velocimetry (3D-PTV) measurements are used to acquire time-averaged velocity and standard deviation fields in a 3D volume directly aft of the DRE elements. The collected data detail the near-element flow topology, providing information on the developing wake and emerging flow structures, their organization and amplitude evolution. A transient growth behaviour is identified in the element wake, while onset and growth of crossflow instabilities is observed further downstream. As such, the near element flow is confirmed to be a fundamental part of the receptivity process, contributing in setting the initial amplitudes for the crossflow instability evolution.