A three-dimensional visualization technique applied to flow around a delta wing

The visualization of flows in two dimensions by using planar laser light sheets is a commonly used technique. We extend this technique to three dimensions by rapidly scanning the laser light sheet to obtain a set of slices of the flow around a full span delta wing. The leading edge vortices, which are marked with smoke, are unburst by tangential blowing around the leading edges at angles of attack in excess of 25°. Since the measurement period is on the order of the smallest convective time scale, we obtain a virtually instantaneous set of planar cross sections of the flow. Software based on the marching cubes algorithm is used to stack the slices and reconstruct a three-dimensional surface of the smoke-seeded fluid. This surface, which corresponds to the vortices, clearly shows the qualitative effects of blowing on the delta wing flow.