The influence of leading-edge tubercles on airfoil performance at low Reynolds numbers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhakar S ◽  
Venkatakrishnan L ◽  
Ramesh O N
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Low Reynolds

Investigation on the effect of leading edge tubercles of sweptback wing at low reynolds number

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 621
Author(s):  
Veerapathiran Thangaraj Gopinathan ◽  
John Bruce Ralphin Rose ◽  
Mohanram Surya
Keyword(s):  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Sweep Angle ◽  
Laminar Separation ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Flow Energy ◽  
Airplane Wing ◽  
Low Reynolds ◽  
Naca 0015 ◽  
Wing Performance

Aerodynamic efficiency of an airplane wing can be improved either by increasing its lift generation tendency or by reducing the drag. Recently, Bio-inspired designs have been received greater attention for the geometric modifications of airplane wings. One of the bio-inspired designs contains sinusoidal Humpback Whale (HW) tubercles, i.e., protuberances exist at the wing leading edge (LE). The tubercles have excellent flow control characteristics at low Reynolds numbers. The present work describes about the effect of tubercles on swept back wing performance at various Angle of Attack (AoA). NACA 0015 and NACA 4415 airfoils are used for swept back wing design with sweep angle about 30°. The modified wings (HUMP 0015 A, HUMP 0015 B, HUMP 4415 A, HUMP 4415 B) are designed with two amplitude to wavelength ratios (η) of 0.1 & 0.24 for the performance analysis. It is a novel effort to analyze the tubercle vortices along the span that induce additional flow energy especially, behind the tubercles peak and trough region. Subsequently, Co-efficient of Lift (CL), Co-efficient of Drag (CD) and boundary layer pressure gradients also predicted for modified and baseline (smooth LE) models in the pre & post-stall regimes. It was observed that the tubercles increase the performance of swept back wings by the enhanced CL/CD ratio in the pre-stall AoA region. Interestingly, the flow separation region behind the centerline of tubercles and formation of Laminar Separation Bubbles (LSB) were asymmetric because of the sweep.

scholarly journals Force and flowfield measurements to understand unsteady aerodynamics of cycloidal rotors in hover at ultra-low Reynolds numbers

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 175682931983367
Author(s):  
Carolyn M Reed ◽  
David A Coleman ◽  
Moble Benedict
Keyword(s):  
Separation Bubble ◽  
Fluid Dynamic ◽  
Unsteady Aerodynamics ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Dynamic Stall ◽  
Static Case ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Curvature Effects ◽  
Low Reynolds

This paper provides a fundamental understanding of the unsteady fluid-dynamic phenomena on a cycloidal rotor blade operating at ultra-low Reynolds numbers (Re ∼ 18,000) by utilizing a combination of instantaneous blade force and flowfield measurements. The dynamic blade force coefficients were almost double the static ones, indicating the role of dynamic stall. For the dynamic case, the blade lift monotonically increased up to ±45° pitch amplitude; however, for the static case, the flow separated from the leading edge after around 15° with a large laminar separation bubble. There was significant asymmetry in the lift and drag coefficients between the upper and lower halves of the trajectory due to the flow curvature effects (virtual camber). The particle image velocimetry measured flowfield showed the dynamic stall process during the upper half to be significantly different from the lower half because of the reversal of dynamic virtual camber. Even at such low Reynolds numbers, the pressure forces, as opposed to viscous forces, were found to be dominant on the cyclorotor blade. The power required for rotation (rather than pitching power) dominated the total blade power.

Effects of smart flap on aerodynamic performance of sinusoidal leading-edge wings at low Reynolds numbers

2020 ◽  
pp. 095441002094690
Author(s):  
AA Mehraban ◽  
MH Djavareshkian ◽  
Y Sayegh ◽  
B Forouzi Feshalami ◽  
Y Azargoon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Drag Forces ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Beam Bending ◽  
Low Reynolds ◽  
Lift And Drag ◽  
Drag Ratio

Sinusoidal leading-edge wings have shown a high performance after the stall region. In this study, the role of smart flaps in the aerodynamics of smooth and sinusoidal leading-edge wings at low Reynolds numbers of 29,000, 40,000 and 58,000 is investigated. Four wings with NACA 634-021 profile are firstly designed and then manufactured by a 3 D printer. Beam bending equation is used to determine the smart flap chord deflection. Next, wind tunnel tests are carried out to measure the lift and drag forces of proposed wings for a wide range of angles of attack, from zero to 36 degrees. Results show that using trailing-edge smart flap in sinusoidal leading-edge wing delays the stall point compared to the same wing without flap. However, a combination of smooth leading-edge wing and smart flap advances the stall. Furthermore, it is found that wings with smart flap generally have a higher lift to drag ratio due to their excellent performance in producing lift.

scholarly journals Experimental study of low Reynolds number effects on aerodynamics of smooth and sinusoidal leading-edge wings in the vicinity of the ground

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 8205-8218
Author(s):  
A. A. Mehraban ◽  
Mohammad Hassan Djavareshkian
Keyword(s):  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Lift Coefficient ◽  
Leading Edge ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Low Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Ground Clearance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reynolds Number Effects ◽  
Low Reynolds ◽  
Stall Angle

Present study experimentally investigates the effects of ground clearance and Reynolds number on aerodynamic coefficients of smooth and sinusoidal leading-edge wings. Wind tunnel tests are conducted over a wide range of angles of attack from zero to 36 degrees, low Reynolds numbers of 30,000, 45,000 and 60,000, and also ground clearances of 0.5, 1 and ∞. Results showed that reduction of ground clearance and increment of Reynolds number cause the lift coefficient and the lift to drag ratio of both wings to be enhanced. Furthermore, the effects of Reynolds number and ground clearance on the smooth leading-edge wing are more than the sinusoidal leading-edge one. In addition, the sinusoidal leading-edge wing shows an excellent performance in the poststall region due to producing a higher lift and also by delaying the stall angle compared to the smooth leading-edge wing.

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