scholarly journals Design and Validation of a New Morphing Camber System by Testing in the Price—Païdoussis Subsonic Wind Tunnel

Aerospace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Communier ◽  
Ruxandra Mihaela Botez ◽  
Tony Wong

This paper presents the design and wind tunnel testing of a morphing camber system and an estimation of performances on an unmanned aerial vehicle. The morphing camber system is a combination of two subsystems: the morphing trailing edge and the morphing leading edge. Results of the present study show that the aerodynamics effects of the two subsystems are combined, without interfering with each other on the wing. The morphing camber system acts only on the lift coefficient at a 0° angle of attack when morphing the trailing edge, and only on the stall angle when morphing the leading edge. The behavior of the aerodynamics performances from the MTE and the MLE should allow individual control of the morphing camber trailing and leading edges. The estimation of the performances of the morphing camber on an unmanned aerial vehicle indicates that the morphing of the camber allows a drag reduction. This result is due to the smaller angle of attack needed for an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with the morphing camber system than an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with classical aileron. In the case study, the morphing camber system was found to allow a reduction of the drag when the lift coefficient was higher than 0.48.

Biomimetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
David Communier ◽  
Franck Le Besnerais ◽  
Ruxandra Mihaela Botez ◽  
Tony Wong

This paper presents the design and wind tunnel test results of a wing including a morphing leading edge for a medium unmanned aerial vehicle with a maximum wingspan of 5 m. The design of the morphing leading edge system is part of research on the design of a morphing camber system. The concept presented here has the advantage of being simple to manufacture (wooden construction) and light for the structure of the wing (compliance mechanism). The morphing leading edge prototype demonstrates the possibility of modifying the stall angle of the wing. In addition, the modification of the stall angle is performed without affecting the slope of the lift coefficient. This prototype is designed to validate the functionality of the deformation method applied to the leading edge of the wing. The mechanism can be further optimized in terms of shape and material to obtain a greater deformation of the leading edge, and, thus, to have a higher impact on the increase of the stall angle than the first prototype of the morphing leading edge presented in this paper.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Kweder ◽  
Mary Ann Clarke ◽  
James E. Smith

Traditional uses of circulation control have been studied since the early 1960’s and have been developed primarily using trailing edge slots over a rounded trailing edge in order to take advantage of the Coanda˘ effect. The leading edge activated slots allow jets of air to enter the freestream flowing around the airfoil thus enhancing the energy of the lift force. The main purpose of circulation control for fixed wing aircraft is to increase the lifting force when large lifting forces and/or slow speeds are required, such as at take-off and landing. While there is a significant increase in the lifting forces achievable through the use of circulation control, there is also an inherent increase in the drag force on the airfoil (Abramson, 2004, Loth, 1976, 1984). Current effects of circulation control on stall angles of airfoils are not well documented and thus needs to be studied. Stall occurs when a sudden reduction in lift occurs caused by a flow separation between the incoming air flow and the lifting surface. The angle at which this happens is commonly called the critical angle of attack, and is typically between eight and twenty degrees depending on the wing profile, aspect ratio, camber, and planform area. For this study, a 10:1 aspect ratio elliptical airfoil with a chord length of 11.8 inches and a span of 31.5 inches was inserted into the West Virginia University Closed Loop Wind Tunnel and was tested at varying wind speeds (80, 100, and 120 feet per second), angle of attack (zero to sixteen degrees), and blowing coefficients, ranging from 0.0006 to 0.0127 depending on internal plenum pressure. By comparing the non-circulation controlled wing with the active leading edge slot circulation control data, a trend was found as to the influence of the circulation control exit jet on the stall characteristics of the wing. For this specific case, when the circulation control is in use on the 10:1 elliptical airfoil, the stall angle decreases, from eight degrees to six degrees, while providing up to a 46% increase in lift coefficient.


Aviation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
Swamy Naidu Venkata Neigapula ◽  
Satya Prasad Maddula ◽  
Vasishta Bhargava Nukala

Aerodynamic performance of aircraft wings vary with flight path conditions and depend on efficiency of high lift systems. In this work, a study on high lift devices and mechanisms that aim to increase maximum lift coefficient and reduce drag on commercial aircraft wings is discussed. Typically, such extensions are provided to main airfoil along span wise direction of wing and can increase lift coefficient by more than 100% during operation. Increasing the no of trailing edge flaps in chord wise direction could result in 100% increment in lift coefficient at a given angle of attack but leading edge slats improve lift by delaying the flow separation near stall angle of attack. Different combinations of trailing edge flaps used by Airbus, Boeing and McDonnel Douglas manufacturers are explained along with kinematic mechanisms to deploy them. The surface pressure distribution for 30P30N airfoil is evaluated using 2D vortex panel method and effects of chord wise boundary layer flow transitions on aerodynamic lift generation is discussed. The results showed better agreements with experiment data for high Reynolds number (9 million) flow conditions near stall angle of attack.


2019 ◽  
Vol 256 ◽  
pp. 02004
Author(s):  
Nornashiha Mohd Saad ◽  
Wirachman Wisnoe ◽  
Rizal Effendy Mohd Nasir ◽  
Zurriati Mohd Ali ◽  
Ehan Sabah Shukri Askari

This paper presents an aerodynamic characteristic study in longitudinal direction of UiTM Blended Wing Body-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Prototype (BWB-UAV Prototype) equipped with horizontal stabilizers. Flight tests have been conducted and as the result, BWB experienced overturning condition at certain angle of attack. Horizontal stabilizer was added at different location and size to overcome the issue during the flight test. Therefore, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is performed at different configuration of horizontal stabilizer using Spalart - Allmaras as a turbulence model. CFD simulation of the aircraft is conducted at Mach number 0.06 or v = 20 m/s at various angle of attack, α. The data of lift coefficient (CL), drag coefficient (CD), and pitching moment coefficient (CM) is obtained from the simulations. The data is represented in curves against angle of attack to measure the performance of BWB prototype with horizontal stabilizer. From the simulation, configuration with far distance and large horizontal stabilizer gives steeper negative pitching moment slope indicating better static stability of the aircraft.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Kweder ◽  
Mary Ann Clarke ◽  
James E. Smith

Circulation control (CC) is a high-lift methodology that can be used on a variety of aerodynamic applications. This technology has been in the research and development phase for over sixty years primarily for fixed wing aircraft where the early models were referred to as “blown flaps”. Circulation control works by increasing the near surface velocity of the airflow over the leading edge and/or trailing edge of a lifting surface This phenomenon keeps the boundary layer jet attached to the wing surface thus increasing the lift generated on the surface. The circulation control airflow adds energy to the lift force through conventional airfoil lift production and by altering the circulation of stream lines around the airfoil. For this study, a 10:1 aspect ratio elliptical airfoil with a chord length of 11.8 inches and a span of 31.5 inches was inserted into the West Virginia University Closed Loop Wind Tunnel and was tested at varying wind speeds (80, 100, and 120 feet per second), angle of attack (zero to sixteen degrees), and blowing coefficients, ranging from 0.0006 to 0.0127 depending on plenum pressure. By comparing the non-circulation controlled wing with the active circulation control data, a trend was found as to the influence of circulation control on the stall characteristics of the wing for trailing edge active control. For this specific case, when the circulation control is in use on the 10:1 elliptical airfoil, the stall angle decreased, from eight degrees to six degrees, while providing a 70% increase in lift coefficient. It should be noted that due to the trailing edge location of the circulation control exit jet, a “virtual” camber is created with the free stream air adding length to the overall airfoil. Due to this phenomena, the actual stall angle measured increased from eight degrees on the un-augmented airfoil, to a maximum of twelve degrees.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinkai Li ◽  
Ke Yang ◽  
Xiaodong Wang

To explore the effect of the height of vortex generators (VGs) on the control effect of boundary-layer flow, the vortex characteristics of a plate and the aerodynamic characteristics of an airfoil for VGs were studied by both wind tunnel experiments and numerical methods. Firstly, the ratio of VG height (H) to boundary layer thickness (δ) was studied on a flat plate boundary layer; the values of H are 0.1δ, 0.2δ, 0.5δ, 1.0δ, 1.5δ, and 2.0δ. Results show that the concentrated vortex intensity and VG height present a logarithmic relationship, and vortex intensity is proportional to the average kinetic energy of the fluid in the height range of the VG. Secondly, the effects of height on the aerodynamic performance of airfoils were studied in a wind tunnel using three VGs with H = 0.66δ, 1.0δ, and 1.33δ. The stall angle of the airfoil with and without VGs is 18° and 8°, respectively, so the VGs increase the stall angle by 10°. The maximum lift coefficient of the airfoil with VGs increases by 48.7% compared with the airfoil without VGs, and the drag coefficient of the airfoil with VGs is 84.9% lower than that of the airfoil without VGs at an angle of attack of 18°. The maximum lift–drag ratio of the airfoil with VGs is lower than that of the airfoil without VGs, so the VGs do not affect the maximum lift–drag ratio of the airfoil. However, a VG does increase the angle of attack of the best lift–drag ratio.


2018 ◽  
Vol 154 ◽  
pp. 01115
Author(s):  
Rahmat Riza ◽  
Dicky Kurniawan ◽  
Arif Budi Wicaksono

NACA0012H is an airfoil type that could be used for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Medium Altitude Long Endurance. This experiment was used to analyze stress in the surface of Tail of UAV MALE that was caused by air flow. The experiment was conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics Software. Two designs of tail, horizontal and V-tail, were considered to simulate pressure occurred on the surface of leading edge, chamber and trailing edge. The simulation was developed varying the speed of the UAV MALE. The results showed that pressure occurred on the surface of horizontal tail higher than pressure on the V-tail.


Author(s):  
Boris A. Mandadzhiev ◽  
Michael K. Lynch ◽  
Leonardo P. Chamorro ◽  
Aimy A. Wissa

Robust and predictable aerodynamic performance of unmanned aerial vehicles at the limits of their design envelope is critical for safety and mission adaptability. In order for a fixed wing aircraft to maintain the lift necessary for sustained flight at very low speeds and large angles of attack (AoA), the wing shape has to change. This is often achieved by using deployable aerodynamic surfaces, such as flaps or slats, from the wing leading or trailing edges. In nature, one such device is a feathered structure on birds’ wings called the alula. The span of the alula is 5% to 20% of the wing and is attached to the first digit of the wing. The goal of the current study is to understand the aerodynamic effects of the alula on wing performance. A series of wind tunnel experiments are performed to quantify the effect of various alula deployment parameters on the aerodynamic performance of a cambered airfoil (S1223). A full wind tunnel span wing, with a single alula located at the wing mid-span is tested under uniform low-turbulence flow at three Reynolds numbers, Re = 85,000, 106,00 and 146,000. An experimental matrix is developed to find the range of effectiveness of an alula-type device. The alula relative angle of attack measured measured from the mean chord of the airfoil is varied to modulate tip-vortex strength, while the alula deflection is varied to modulate the distance of the tip vortex to the wing surface. Lift and drag forces were measured using a six axis force transducer. The lift and drag coefficients showed the greatest sensitivity to the the alula relative angle of attack, increasing the normalized lift coefficient by as much as 80%. Improvements in lift are strongly correlated to higher alula angle, with β = 0° – 5°, while reduction in the drag coefficient is observed with higher alula tip deflection ratios and lower β angles. Results show that, as the wing angle of attack and Reynolds number are increased, the overall lift co-efficient improvement is diminished while the reduction in drag coefficient is higher.


Author(s):  
AA Mehraban ◽  
MH Djavareshkian

Sinusoidal leading-edge wings have attracted many considerations since they can delay the stall and enhance the maneuverability. The main contribution of this research study is to experimentally investigate effects of ground on aerodynamic performance of sinusoidal leading-edge wings. To this end, 6 tubercled wings with different amplitudes and wavelengths are fabricated and compared with the baseline wing which has smooth leading-edge. Proposed wings are tested in different distances from the ground in a wind tunnel lab for a wide range of angle of attack from 0° to 36° and low Reynolds number of 45,000. Results indicated that lift coefficient is improved when wings get close to the ground. Furthermore, increment of protuberance amplitude in the vicinity of the ground could efficiently prevent stalling particularly for shorter wavelength.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Ernesto A. Elvira-Hernández ◽  
Francisco López-Huerta ◽  
Héctor Vázquez-Leal ◽  
Quetzalcoatl Hernández-Escobedo ◽  
Agustín Leobardo Herrera-May

Oil pipeline networks require periodic inspection to detect damages that can generate oil leakage in natural and human environments. These damages can be caused by geological hazard and interference from third party. In order to detect these damages, low-cost techniques that consider both the oil pipeline networks and the environment are required. In this paper, the aerodynamic analysis of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with Eppler 748 sailplane airfoil (wingspan of 1.635 m) is presented. The UAV can include a small infrared camera for monitoring oil leakage of a pipeline network using the infrared radiation related to oil. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the UAV is developed to predict its lift and drag coefficients as a function of the Reynolds number and the angle of attack (AoA). The air velocity profile around UAV is estimated with the CFD simulations. In addition, a scale model (1:6.5) of the UAV is fabricated using a 3D printer, which is tested employing a subsonic wind tunnel. For the UAV with AoA of 0, the drag and lift coefficients obtained with the CFD model have a similar behavior with respect to those measured through the subsonic wind tunnel. The designed UAV could be used for low-cost inspections of damages in oil pipeline networks in comparison with the use of helicopters or light aircraft.


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