scholarly journals Effect of paragliding wing dome shape on its aerodynamic characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 54-65
Author(s):  
V. V. Ovchinnikov ◽  
Yu. V. Petrov ◽  
Sh. F. Ganiev

Double-membrane gliding parachutes (DGP) obtain their wide variety of application, including the solution of cargo transportation problems. This parachute is a flexible canopy, which shape is maintained by ram air. In terms of the aerodynamic performance calculation and analysis when operating, DGP is the most complex aero elastic system. The computation of DPG aerodynamic performance is only possible, utilizing the methods of nonlinear aerodynamics and the nonlinear theory of elasticity methods.This paper investigates the aerodynamic characteristics of stable geometric shapes for various gliding parachutes, taking into account their dome shape both chord-wise and span-wise. Notably, the volumetric parachute profile is modeled by its median surface. The research, conducted by the authors, showed that such an aero elastic model of DGP allows you to obtain results that reflect correctly the qualitative effects of detached and free streamline flow. To solve the problem about the airflow over a gliding parachute, considering its canopy curvature, the method of discrete vortices with closed frames is employed, which allows you to calculate the paragliding wing aerodynamic performance within a wide range of angles of attack. There is also a possibility of flow separation simulation. The ideal incompressible liquid flow over the median surface of a stable shape for a double-membrane gliding parachute is regarded. The parachute fabric porosity is not analyzed, since the upper and lower DGP panels are made of either the low permeable or non-porous fabric. In the separated flow past, the aerodynamic coefficients are identified by time averaging to its large values after computing. The DGP aerodynamic performance computation results are given at a different value of its dome shape, as in the free streamline flow as in the flow separation. The computed coefficients, that allow us to consider the influence of canopy dome shape on its aerodynamic characteristics, are obtained. The proposed technique can be used for operational estimates of aerodynamic forces while designing and planning a pipe experiment.

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio De Gregorio

A comprehensive experimental investigation of a helicopter blunt fuselage model was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of active flow control (AFC) systems in reducing parasite fuselage drag. The main objective was to demonstrate the capability of different active technologies to decrease fuselage drag by alleviating the flow separation in the loading ramp region of large transport helicopters. The work was performed on a simplified blunt fuselage at model scale. Two different flow control actuators were considered for evaluation: steady blowing and unsteady blowing (i. e., pulsed jets). Laboratory tests of each individual actuator were performed to assess their performance and properties. The fuselage model was investigated with and without the AFC systems located along the loading ramp edges. Significant drag reductions were achieved for a wide range of fuselage angles of attack and sideslip angles without negatively affecting other aerodynamic characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-100
Author(s):  
V. V. Ovchinnicov ◽  
Yu. V. Petrov

Currently, two-shell paragliders (TSP) find a sufficiently wide application, including the solution of transport problems. A two-shell paraglider is a soft wing, the form of which is supported by the high-speed pressure in the stream and it is a complex aeroelastic system. To determine the aerodynamic characteristics of such system the use of nonlinear aerodynamics and nonlinear theory of elasticity methods is required, it causes the significant computational difficulties. This paper studies the aerodynamic characteristics of various steady-state shapes of gliding parachutes, the calculation-experimental method of their calculation is proposed. It is shown that the replacement of the volumetric profile of TSP median surface allows to receive the results which correctly reflect the qualitative effects of stalled and attached flows. It leads to the assumption that such replacement was possible for obtaining data about the main patterns of parachute finite wings span flow. The aerodynamic characteristics data of TSP steady-state shapes allow to identify the regularities of their changes depending on parachute cutting shape, the deformations of its surface caused by the incoming flow or control actions. To solve the problem of gliding parachute stall, with a stream of air, the discrete vortex method with closed frameworks is used. This method allows to calculate the aerodynamic characteristics of parachutes. The middle surface airflow of TSP steady-state shape with the flow of an ideal incompressible fluid is examined. The parachute fabric permeability is not considered because the upper and lower TSP cloth is either made of low permeable or impermeable fabric. The stalled aerodynamic coefficients are determined by time averaging after calculations up to its larger values. The results of the calculations are given. The possibility of application the proposed methodology for calculation of TSP aerodynamic characteristics in the range of angles of attack to 10° and over 20° for the simplified calculation scheme with accuracy 10% is shown. At the same time, it is revealed that with the increase of soft wing elongation, it is important to consider its main surface curvature for more precise aerodynamic characteristics definition. The proposed methodology can be used for rapid assessments of aerodynamic forces at the design stage and in planning tube experiment. The obtained results can be useful in TSP design during the performance of the tube experiments.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Caidong Wang ◽  
Yu Ning ◽  
Xinjie Wang ◽  
Junqiu Zhang ◽  
Liangwen Wang

Beetles have excellent flight performance. Based on the four-plate mechanism theory, a novel bionic flapping aircraft with foldable beetle wings was designed. It can perform flapping, gliding, wing folding, and abduction/adduction movements with a self-locking function. In order to study the flight characteristics of beetles and improve their gliding performance, this paper used a two-way Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) numerical simulation method to focus on the gliding performance of the bionic flapping aircraft. The effects of elastic model, rigid and flexible wing, angle of attack, and velocity on the aerodynamic characteristics of the aircraft in gliding flight are analyzed. It was found that the elastic modulus of the flexible hinges has little effect on the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft. Both the rigid and the flexible wings have a maximum lift-to-drag ratio when the attack angle is 10°. The lift increased with the increase of the gliding speed, and it was found that the lift cannot support the gliding movement at low speeds. In order to achieve gliding, considering the weight and flight performance, the weight of the microair vehicle is controlled at about 3 g, and the gliding speed is guaranteed to be greater than 6.5 m/s. The results of this study are of great significance for the design of bionic flapping aircrafts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhang ◽  
Zhou Zhou ◽  
Kelei Wang ◽  
Xu Li

A numerical study was conducted on the influence of turbulence intensity and Reynolds number on the mean topology and transition characteristics of flow separation to provide better understanding of the unsteady jet flow of turboelectric distributed propulsion (TeDP) aircraft. By solving unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equation based on C-type structural mesh and γ - Re ˜ θ t transition model, the aerodynamic characteristics of the NACA0012 airfoil at different turbulence intensities was calculated and compared with the experimental results, which verifies the reliability of the numerical method. Then, the effects of varied low Reynolds numbers and turbulence intensities on the aerodynamic performance of NACA0012 and SD7037 were investigated. The results show that higher turbulence intensity or Reynolds number leads to more stable airfoil aerodynamic performance, larger stalling angle, and earlier transition with a different mechanism. The generation and evolution of the laminar separation bubble (LSB) are closely related to Reynolds number, and it would change the effective shape of the airfoil, having a big influence on the airfoil’s aerodynamic characteristics. Compared with the symmetrical airfoil, the low-Reynolds-number airfoil can delay the occurrence of flow separation and produce more lift in the same conditions, which provides guidance for further airfoil design under TeDP jet flow.


Author(s):  
Zhipeng Qu ◽  
Houdi Xiao ◽  
Mingyun Lv ◽  
Guangli Li ◽  
Cui Kai

Abastrct The waverider is deemed the most promising configuration for hypersonic vehicle with its high lift-to-drag ratio at design conditions. However, considering the serious aero-heating protection, the sharp leading edge must be blunted. The existing traditional bluntness methods including the following two types: “reducing material method” and “adding material method”. Compared to the initial waverider, the volume will be smaller or larger using the traditional methods. With the fixed blunted radius, the volume and aerodynamic performance is determined. In this paper, a new bluntness method which is named “mixing material method” is developed. In this new method, a new parameter is introduced based on the traditional two bluntness methods. Under fixed blunted radius, the volume and aerodynamic performance can be changed within a wide range by adjusting the parameter. When the parameter is 0 and 1, the novel blunted method degenerated into the “reducing material method” and “adding material method” respectively. The influence of new parameter on the aerodynamic characteristics and volume are studied by numerical simulation. Results show that the volume, lift and lift-to-drag ratio increases with the increase of the parameter under the fixed blunt radius, but simultaneously, the drag will also increase. Therefore, considering the different requirements of the air-breathing hypersonic aircrafts for the balance of thrust and drag, lift and weight, a suitable bluntness parameter can be selected to achieve a balance. This research can provide reference for hypersonic waverider vehicle design.


Author(s):  
Subah Mubassira ◽  
Farhana Islam Muna ◽  
Mohammad Ilias Inam

This paper presents a two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis on the effect of gurney flap on a NACA 4312 airfoil in a subsonic flow. These numerical simulations were conducted for flap heights 1.5%, 1.75%, 2% and 3% of chord length at fixed Reynold Number, Re (5×105) for different angle of attack (0o ~16o). ANSYS Fluent commercial software was used to conduct these simulations. The flow was considered as incompressible and K-omega Shear Stress Transport (SST) model was selected. The numerical results demonstrate that lift coefficient increase up to around 12o AoA (angle of attack) for NACA 4312 with and without gurney flap. For every AoA lift coefficient and drag coefficient presented proportionate behavior with flap height. However, lift co-efficient was decreased after around  angle of attack due to flow separation. Maximum lift to drag ratio was found at around 4o AoA for every flap length and airfoil with flap of 1.5%C (chord length) had shown the most optimized aerodynamic performance through the analysis. This study concluded that airfoil with gurney flap displayed enhanced aerodynamic performance than the airfoil without gurney flap due to the delay in flow separation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
B. Nugroho ◽  
J. Brett ◽  
B.T. Bleckly ◽  
R.C. Chin

ABSTRACT Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) are believed by many to be the future of aerial strike/reconnaissance capability. This belief led to the design of the UCAV 1303 by Boeing Phantom Works and the US Airforce Lab in the late 1990s. Because UCAV 1303 is expected to take on a wide range of mission roles that are risky for human pilots, it needs to be highly adaptable. Geometric morphing can provide such adaptability and allow the UCAV 1303 to optimise its physical feature mid-flight to increase the lift-to-drag ratio, manoeuvrability, cruise distance, flight control, etc. This capability is extremely beneficial since it will enable the UCAV to reconcile conflicting mission requirements (e.g. loiter and dash within the same mission). In this study, we conduct several modifications to the wing geometry of UCAV 1303 via Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to analyse its aerodynamic characteristics produced by a range of different wing geometric morphs. Here we look into two specific geometric morphing wings: linear twists on one of the wings and linear twists at both wings (wash-in and washout). A baseline CFD of the UCAV 1303 without any wing morphing is validated against published wind tunnel data, before proceeding to simulate morphing wing configurations. The results show that geometric morphing wing influences the UCAV-1303 aerodynamic characteristics significantly, improving the coefficient of lift and drag, pitching moment and rolling moment.


eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edvin Memet ◽  
Feodor Hilitski ◽  
Margaret A Morris ◽  
Walter J Schwenger ◽  
Zvonimir Dogic ◽  
...  

We use optical trapping to continuously bend an isolated microtubule while simultaneously measuring the applied force and the resulting filament strain, thus allowing us to determine its elastic properties over a wide range of applied strains. We find that, while in the low-strain regime, microtubules may be quantitatively described in terms of the classical Euler-Bernoulli elastic filament, above a critical strain they deviate from this simple elastic model, showing a softening response with increasing deformations. A three-dimensional thin-shell model, in which the increased mechanical compliance is caused by flattening and eventual buckling of the filament cross-section, captures this softening effect in the high strain regime and yields quantitative values of the effective mechanical properties of microtubules. Our results demonstrate that properties of microtubules are highly dependent on the magnitude of the applied strain and offer a new interpretation for the large variety in microtubule mechanical data measured by different methods.


Author(s):  
Carlo Cravero ◽  
Mario La Rocca ◽  
Andrea Ottonello

The use of twin scroll volutes in radial turbine for turbocharging applications has several advantages over single passage volute related to the engine matching and to the overall compactness. Twin scroll volutes are of increasing interest in power unit development but the open scientific literature on their performance and modelling is still quite limited. In the present work the performance of a twin scroll volute for a turbocharger radial turbine are investigated in some detail in a wide range of operating conditions at both full and partial admission. A CFD model for the volute have been developed and preliminary validated against experimental data available for the radial turbine. Then the numerical model has been used to generate the database of solutions that have been investigated and used to extract the performance. Different parameters and indices are introduced to describe the volute aerodynamic performance in the wide range of operating conditions chosen. The above parameters can be used for volute development or matching with a given rotor or efficiently implemented in automatic design optimization strategies.


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