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Issued patent

Supersonic Laminar Flow Control

An issued NASA patent from the Technology Transfer catalog.

View at technology.nasa.gov
Media from NASA Technology Transfer

About this technology

Overview

NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a technology that is projected to extend the laminar flow area over supersonic flight configurations by delaying the transition of boundary layer flow from laminar to turbulent state. This controls laminar flow over airframe components including wings, empennage, engine nacelles, and the nose region of an aircraft fuselage. It can be used in combination with many of the existing techniques for passive and active laminar flow control, but is particularly well-suited for a supersonic natural laminar flow design by virtue of avoiding the space, weight, system complexity, and maintenance penalties associated with suction based laminar flow control.