An experimental study of the effect of the blow-in rate on the size of the flow separation region

Experimental results are presented concerning the effect of the air blow-in rate on the size of the flow separation region downstream of a rearward-facing step at different step heights. The stream function is found from the experimental velocity profiles, the streamline = 0 being taken as the boundary line. It is shown that the separation region increases as the blow-in rate is increased. Generalization of the experimental results for different blow-in rates and step heights has made it possible to obtain an analytical expression describing the location of some characteristic lines in the separation region (boundary streamline, reverse-flow boundary, line of reverse-flow maximum velocity, line of variable-velocity layer thickness, and the displacement thickness line). Velocity profiles are obtained by means of a hot-wire anemometer. Analytical expressions are written as polynomials with unknown coefficients. The results obtained may be helpful in developing techniques for the treatment of heat transfer under flow separation conditions.